Ragazzi, one of the fun things about being a part of a CSA is having to learn how to deal with things you don't usually buy. Even with her vast levels of experience, Annalena has never really had much acquaintance with the vegetable pictured above (which can also be found in purple). Kohlrabi was not in her repertoire, but it WAS in the CSA box.
OK.... she thought to herself. "What would Alice do," meaning of course, Alice Waters. Guess what? Not a single recipe in any of her books, on the stuff. And so it went, with several of her books. "The Joy of Cooking" suggested peeling, boiling and covering with a white sauce.
Well, gee, that was helpful... NOT. BUT... there was a glimmer of hope. Buried in one of Mark Bittman's book was the tidbit that "kohlrabi are treated just like turnips." He gave no recipes, but using her incredible systematic and logical mind (no cracks here, ragazzi), Annalena looked up the turnip recipes, and indeed, she found one. She tried it.
She provides it here. It was OK, but not terrific. A second recipe was better, and in one of those situations where "you gotta have friends," Annalena gave some of them to her friend Maria, who is Latina, but new precisely what to do with this German/Eastern European vegetable. More on this below.
First, let Annalena get on her soap box on cookbooks. To the extent she found information on this thing, they all said "small ones may be cooked whole, but larger ones must be peeled."
Ok, this begs the question: what is large and what is small? Annalena has in fact seen some kohlrabis that were as big as her not insignificant head. Did she have small ones, or large ones? She peeled half of them, and did not peel the others.
News for all of you who wish to experiment with these critters. PEEL THEM completely. And then, look for the point where it gets very tough. If you cut these guys like coins, you will probably find a spot where your knife is giving you a fight. Don't argue, just don't use them.
Ok, so what do you do with these guys? Well, if you are lucky enough to get them with the greens still attached, use them any way you would use turnip greens (and keep in mind that, in Italy, broccoli di rapi is "cima" or turnip greens. So if you like orecchiete with broccoli rabb and don't have any of it around, use the leaves. Do know they are a bit on the tough side. The stems? COMPOST. But the bulbs. Ok, Annalena is going to give you two recipes because one is a "putting it together recipe" based on one she's already posted, and the other is a really simple one. The latter is really ONLY for turnip lovers.
"Putting it together." Way back when, Annalena posted a recipe for a potato gratin. You sliced potatoes, put them under milk, added salt, boiled the thing, poured it into a greased pan, and baked. Well, you're gonna do that again this time, only you're going to use equal amounts of sliced kohlrabi and potatoes. To review, peel both vegetables. Cut them into thin, round slices. Put them in a pot, and add whole or 2% milk, just to cover. Over low heat, bring this just to a boil, pull it away from the stove, and pour it into a glass or ceramic baking dish (or two), that you've buttered. Remember to add salt to the milk. Put t his into the oven at 400, and bake for 30-45 minutes, until it's brown and the milk is no longer liquid.
For the turnip lovers: after you have prepped the veggies, cut them into wedges. You should probably aim for 6-8 wedges per kohlrabi. Now, put these in a pot with COLD, salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook them until they are not quite done. You know what that means: a knife stuck into them goes in a bit, but not all the way. Drain them. Put the kohlrabi back into the pot, and add water just to about half the depth of the veggies. Add two or three tablespoons of butter and bring it to a fast boil, uncovered. The water will boil off and eventually, you will be braising the veggies in butter. They will brown somewhat, and you should plan on doing some stirring. When they are soft enough for your taste, they are done.
Well... not quite. This is a very white, bland looking vegetable once it is peeled. So Annalena chopped up some hazelnuts and put them over the critters. That was a good idea. Parsley would have been good too. And, let's face it: is there anything that is not improved with a dusting of grated cheese?
Annalena plans to try her friend Maria's stew recipe, and shall report back. Be adventurous ragazzi. Remember, somewhere in time, SOMEONE was the first person to eat a lobster, a truffle, a foie gras. Honor your ancestors.
Next time around, we visit the neglected world of the letter Q and work with quinces. An Annalena favorite.
Alla prossima.
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