Over the past year or two that I have been more deeply exploring nutrition and food in general, I’ve discovered a few new veggies, fruit, and herbs. I’d really like to share some of these lesser-known goodies with you, so you can explore new tastes and textures in your food without feeling intimidated by new produce.
Those who begin the journey to health soon find themselves looking beyond the norm of salad, and start to explore a whole new world of vegetation. This exploration most often begins with something like kale. Being a dark, leafy green, it is nutrient-dense and very versatile. You can massage it into a salad, toss it into stir-fry, or steam it like spinach. But many times explorers stop there, and don’t venture into, for instance, the many varieties of kale, nor do they go beyond that easy and now-familiar vegetable to find other amazing plants like….
Kohlrabi is our plant of the week. It is an oddly-shaped member of the cabbage family, with a bulbous base and long stems with soft leaves. The tops taste like cabbage; the bottom tends to taste like broccoli stems. The base will need to be peeled, as the skin is quite tough and not pleasant to chew.
What I Did:
Tonight, I steamed the base and tops, along with carrots, kale, and celery. It’s a tasty side to my gluten-free fried chicken (I also roasted potatoes with herbs as the starch).
Other Ideas:
~ Use the tops in place of cabbage for stews, colcannon, or to top your fish tacos.
~ Chop the base and use in stir-fry, chili, or cream of broccoli soup.
~ Wash and chop the leaves finely; add to salad.
~ Boil the chopped base along with potatoes and blend into mashed potatoes.
~ Roast, along with other veggies (like onion, bell pepper, and carrots) with olive oil, vinegar, and spices.
~ Juice it! Blend into a green smoothie!
Have YOU tried kohlrabi before? How did you like it? What did you do with it?
Diane said,
January 15, 2013 at 7:03 pm
Love to learn more about food! I haven’t seen kohlrabi in the store, but if I do, maybe I’ll try it! Thanks!