h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

K and I went to the farmer's market yesterday, and came back with quite a haul. We got a couple more heads of baby butter luettuce (which won't be around much longer) and some green beans. I got a small eggplant, a red bell pepper and a couple of zucchini so I can make the first batch of ratatouille of this summer. . Also got a bunch of kale, a bunch of fresh dill, a few spring onions, and a kohlrabi.

So... I've never cooked kohlrabi, and I don't use turnips much except for in soups. I've got a couple of ideas in mind, but since so many of you here come up with such great dishes, I'm interested in your favorite ways of preparing kohlrabi. If I could use some of the dill at the same time, that'd be good, too.

I don't have anything on hand I could use to fake a cheesy or creamy sauce, but roux or similar would be OK. And I'd rather not run the oven, as it's going to be warmer again later this week. Stove top or grill pan would be preferable.

I usually prepare kale with beans, and either soy chorizo or tomato sauce. If anyone has a brilliant, different way they like to prepare kale, I'd love to hear that, too.

Kohlrabi is nice raw.

Does it taste much like turnip? If so, I probably wouldn't like it raw. But I hear that it tastes more like broccoli stems, which I am more than happy to eat raw. Such a dilemma.

Seriously, though. I could probably just slice it up and dress it, or dice it and add to salad like I would with jicama or something. No risk of heating up the house there. Thanks, Mala!

You can also grate it and put it in a soup or stir-fry it.

Like Mala, I prefer kohlrabi raw. If you think you absolutely have to cook it, then dice it (not too small pieces), boil in saltwater and make a Mehlschwitze (LEO says that's roux) and add fresh parsley.

but it's also very nice stuffed - just hollow it out with a melon-ball thingy (ah yes, Parisienne cutter I think they're called) and stuff with... whatever you fancy and then bake in the oven like stuffed peppers

I prefer it raw though.

I've heard of stuffed kohlrabi- we only bought one, since K hasn't had it since he was little and I never have (I'm not a fan of turnips or radishes, etc). I'll keep stuffing in mind for future reference.

Grating into stir-fry sounds do-able, too. I've got carrot and daikon in the fridge. Daikon is another thing I just can't eat raw. I cannot stand the taste of anything vaguely turnip-y or radishy. Nor most starchy veggies like potato, taro root or yuca/cassava. They're too bitter, and I very much dislike bitter tasting things.

But... I'm willing to give it a taste and see if I survive.

Dad offered me a kohlrabi once; I told him he could stuff it. I never knew how accurate I was...

The stuffed ones actually sound pretty good, so I may buy some again come autumn. Too hot to run the oven now.

Last night I made the ratatouille.

In reply to post 1 - I'd look it up inna dichionary. And then try and find a picture.

Oh, you don't want a picture. They look not a million miles away from Oliver Cromwell with antennae.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/kohlrabi/

This might be worth looking at.

Odd named veggie isn't it; i get a mental picture of Middle Eastern eye make up....

zdt

I always think they look like an organic Sputnik.

Kale:

Shred, and stir fry with shiitakes, tofu, chilli, ginger, garlic.

Just found out it originates from Germany; so i will consult with P on this important issue; he will probably say it has to be cooked using solar power by a naked hippie or something, eaten on top of a mountain, whilst in the lotus position.

Or he may say "YEUUUGH, i have spent my entire life avoiding these things!"

zdt

Kohl is German for "cabbage" - we do wonder why people smear it on their eyes

Tonight I will attempt to replicate a dish I had in our favourite Mexican restaurant in Clearwater, fried chicken with onions and peppers, served with refried beans and spicy rice, topped with cheese.

Any suggestions for the rice? If they're plain boiled it'll be a bit odd as a combination, but I don't want them roof-of-your-mouth-burning hot...

Wash the rice and drain thouroughly. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry a tsp of cumin seeds. Add the rice and continue frying a while before adding water (1 1/4 times the volume of the rice). Bring to the boil. Cover firmly and turn heat down very low.

This is sometimes known as 'Dirty Rice'.

Garnish with a little chopped coriander, and maybe some small wedges of lime.

Thank you Edward - I'll try this sometime

As it was for yesterdays dinner, I improvised.
I boiled the plain white rice until cooked, then drained and returned to the pot with a dash of sunflower oil (we hardly ever use olive oil and the I used to work with say that it isn't good for cooking, i.e. it's better used cold. They suggest Rape Seed Oil instead.).

I then added a dash of hot chili powder, a dash of an italian herbs mix and several dashes of paprika powder, then stirred all together. It was really nice actually, as was dinner. Only refinements to be made will be to chop the pepper up smaller so it is softer and possibly using a milder refried bean.

Another option would be to grill a pepper stuffed with the rice and the cheese and serve it like that instead. Mmmmm. Am now hungry.

For Indian rice...the same method, but use sunflower oil or ghee and the spices are star anise, a few cloves, a few chunks of cinnamon bark and a bay leaf or two. Maybe a cardomon pod or two. Don't worry about leaving the spices in for folk to pick out themselves.

Can also be finished off with a little butter and a scratching of nutmeg.


(After washing and draining the rice, I sometimes spread it on a plate and put it in a low oven to dry for a short while - but it's not really necessary).