Kohlrabi Cooked Three Ways

This week in my Harvest Hub fruit and vegetable bag I got Kohlrabi. While I have seen Kohlrabi before (I am a Hubster with Harvest Hub and pack my members’ fruit and veg each week), I have never cooked nor eaten it.

It’s not a common vegetable here, and I didn’t know what to do with it. Have you seen it before?

Unusual, isn’t it? From the website I’ll share with you shortly, Becca describes it perfectly as ‘like a cross between a spaceship and a Pokémon’!

A quick internet search tells me it comes from the brassica family along with cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and kale. There is also a white variety, I’ve seen that before too. The stem and the leaves can be eaten, as well as the bulb.  To prepare it, you peel off the outer layer. Under that is a fibrous layer. You need to remove that as well. So I just cut it off with a knife rather than using a peeler.

My internet search also told me how good it is for you. It is low in calories, cholesterol and saturated fat but high in minerals and vitamins, particularly Vitamin C. Have you heard of the ‘knowledge engine’ (as opposed to a search engine) WolframAlpha? It’s new to me. I asked it the nutrients of Kohlrabi and you can see the results here.

It has a texture like a crisp pear. Its flavour is bland, fresh and crisp. I know you wouldn’t usually describe a food as having a fresh and crisp flavour, but that’s the best I can do! It is slightly sweet.

And it seems it is a very versatile vegetable. Apparently it’s good in a salad, stir fry, slaw, curry, casserole, or roast and anything else you can think of!

So, what to cook? Plenty of options, but on my Pinterest search fritters attracted me 🙂 Becca (mentioned above) shared her Kohlrabi fritters here, which I pinned to my Yum board 🙂

Following Becca’s lead, I grated Kohlrabi, carrot and I added zucchini and cheese. I also included a crushed clove of garlic, and a good pinch of turmeric. You could add herbs or any spices you like.

To my bowl full of grated vegies I added 2 beaten eggs, and enough flour to bind it together – a couple of tablespoons worth.

Use a dessert- or tablespoon as your measure for the fritters, and fry them in hot oil until golden.

I served them for lunch accompanied with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.

They were yum! They were also good dipped in some French Onion Dip I had hiding in the fridge, or with a squeeze of lemon. My son declared them ‘delicious’ and asked for seconds! He does love fritters, so I am pleased he approved of this combination.

Next up was what to have for dinner. I decided on Shepherd’s Pie, with a potato and Kohlrabi mash on top. I also wanted to try it roasted, so I saved a couple of pieces and did that as well.

I cut the Kohlrabi into chunks and boiled it with my potatoes. The potato cooked faster, so I would recommend cutting the Kohlrabi into slightly smaller chunks than the potato. Mash it together as you would normally make mash, adding milk, butter, sour cream or whatever. I spread this mash over my mince and veg base, topped it with grated Parmesan cheese and popped it in the oven until it was getting golden on top.

The couple of chunks I kept aside I parboiled in some chicken stock. Then put them on a baking paper-lined baking tray, sprinkled a little more Parmesan on them, and into the oven as well.

I can safely say dinner was a success as well!

The next time I see Kohlrabi on the list, I won’t be afraid to try it another way. Perhaps a stir fry. And if wasn’t a hit after the fritters, I would have just grated it into mince for lasagne or added it to my next slowcooker meal. It would have been eaten one way or another!

Have you ever seen/eaten Kohlrabi before? What’s your favourite way to eat it? I’d definitely recommend trying it if you haven’t!

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