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Learning to Love Kohlrabi

kohlrabi When the most recent batch of local produce came from our Harmony Valley CSA last week, my kids wanted their pictures taken with each new vegetable. My daughter's colorful dress seemed like the perfect backdrop for this beautiful purple kohlrabi, which we ate over the weekend. To my less-than-expertly-trained palate, kohlrabi - which I'd never eaten before - tastes very much like cabbage. Firm in the middle (not layered, like cabbage), kohlrabi tastes great in smallish, match-stick sized pieces. The salad we ate it in - not a big hit in our house, I'll admit - included Yukina savoy (a salad green that's also new to us, reminding me of spinach or mustard greens), but I went straight for the tasty the kohlrabi, which had been marinated in fresh squeezed lime juice and chili powder. Next time I'll know to peel its skin first. I found an excellent article about how to use kohlrabi on the site Care2, which uses the Rolling Prairie Cookbook by Nancy O'Connor as its source. Here's an excerpt: Kohlrabi can be one of those intimidating vegetables if you haven’t been around it much. It has the look of an organic green Sputnik, with a taste like fresh, crunchy broccoli stems accented by radish. The name kohlrabi comes from the German kohl, meaning cabbage, and rabi, or turnip, and that kind of sums it up. Although these green bulbs look like they were dug up from the earth, the round bulb is a swollen stem that grows above ground. Not a commonly used vegetable in American cuisine, kohlrabi is widely used in Central Europe and Asia. It is still patiently waiting to be discovered in this country. There's loads more information on the Care2 site, including how kohlrabi grows and how to prepare it. I'm looking forward to getting another few beautiful, tasty, green and purple bulbs soon.

Comments

Thanks for the link! Kohlrabi was a new one for me too. I tried it roasted with some of our radishes & potatoes and it was AMAZING! Even our four-year-old liked it which really is a miracle! I blogged about it and put up a couple pics. I also discovered that roasting is one way I actually like radishes!!

Thanks Heather! I just took a look at your blog post (http://greenadventuresofacitygirl.blogspot.com/) - great idea and pictures. So far, there's not a root vegetable that I don't love if it's roasted right. I'm looking forward to trying this next week (hopefully we get more of the same stuff).

Gotta say that I found this extremely useful. I'll link to it on my ediets reviews blog.

I have learned already! remember how surprised I was to see the members of my hosting family eating this plant fresh:) like rabbits!, was my first thought. but then I got used and really liked it! especially after I had read a lot on the topic at different blogs and books (download mainly from http://www.picktorrent.com ) and found out how useful it is. I'm a kohlrabi fan ever since!

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