It's baaaaaaaaaack. Oven fried kohlrabi

When you belong to a CSA, as Annalena and the Guyman do, you really have to learn to be creative sometimes.  The CSA delivers what they have ready, and your choice is to take it, or not.   Sometimes, as with the one we used before (and miss), it meant getting something called "8 ball squash" every week for about a month.  These round squashes weighed about a pound and a half, and there ultimately were only so many things that Annalena could do with them.  One learns to be creative.

Now, with squash, there is a really big repertoire of recipes.  All of you probably have many ideas on how to cook squash.  But... kohlrabi?  Yes, that critter from yesterday is back.  Because it was back in the CSA basket.  Allegedly, for the last week, but maybe not.

In the last entry, you read about Annalena's adventure in vegan land with the wonderful lentil, grain and vegetable salad.  She sent that recipe off to her friends at the CSA, and they sent one back.  It was a recipe sort of the way  Annalena likes them.  "cut up the kohlrabi, coat it with olive oil and bread crumbs, and bake it until it's brown and crispy.


Well, Annalena can be accused of being less than wordy in her recipes. THIS one (repeated in its entire), is much more along those lines.

But, ultimately, there isn't much to do to change the recipe.  Annalena will supplement it, the way she did last night.   This is pretty darn good.  You'll like it, and you'll feel good about having something that's really not so bad, but also not so healthy.

Get a few - say 2,3 or 4 kohlrabi.  Get rid of the stems and leaves, and then peel them.  You'll wind up with some very pale, ecru looking spheres.  Cut long slices and then put the slices on a horizontal surface, and slice them as if you were making small french fries (the critters do look a lot like potatoes when you peel them).    Toss them in a few tablespoons of olive oil:  say a tablespoon for every 2 of them.    You won't have much oil left over.

In a separate bowl, mix together about a cup of dried breadcrumbs, a teaspoon of salt, and "seasonings."  What does Annalena mean by seasonings?  She means whatever you like.  Annalena went for the hot stuff, and put in a teaspoon of berebere', which is a very spicy, hot, African powder.   Curry will work, so will chili powder, etc. Experiment.

Lightly oil a baking sheet, and put the kohlrabi pieces on it, one layer deep.  Put that sheet in a preheated, 450 oven, and cook for 10 minutes.  Lower the heat to 400 for another 10, and then lower to 350 for ten or more.  We use "or more," because you're going to stick a knife into one of them to see if it's tender enough for you.  There is no "right" or "wrong" here, because you have to bake them to YOUR texture.

When you're done, if the stuff is too hot for you, a little mayonnaise cures a lot of ills.  So would lemon juice.  Or tartar sauce.  Ketchup, Annalena thinks, would be too strong.

A nice side dish, with one of our weirder vegetables.

They say the kohlrabi is gone.  Well, ragazzi, it will be back.  And we'll all be ready.