(recipe from the book Local Flavors used with permission of the author, Deborah Madison, submitted by CSA member Lisa Nau, whose act inspired the title of this recipe collection)
Serves 4
Peel 12 ounces kohlrabi and/or turnips and cut into fine julienne strips. Thinly slice or grate 3 or 4 inner celery ribs (lovage or celery leaf works fine too.) Toss with enough Mustard Vinaigrette to moisten.
Mustard Vinaigrette
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar or fresh lemon juice
2 shallots, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
salt & freshly milled pepper
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons snipped chives
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
3 Tablespoons capers, rinsed
Combine vinegar through salt in a bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes, then
vigorously whisk in the mustard, crème fraîche, and oil until thick and smooth.
Grind in a little pepper, then stir in the herbs and capers.
Just think, this recipe blog wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Lisa’s [in]famous submission to The Whipstone Newsletter….
I prepare kohlrabi the way my German mother did many vegetables.
Peel and slice the kohlrabi; steam until cooked (maybe 20 min or less). Retain any liquid.
Make a “roux” using butter or margarine and flour. Gradually stir in liquid from the vegetables until desired consistency is reached. If insufficient liquid, use milk or water. Flavor with nutmeg. Either stir cooked kohlrabi into this sauce, or spoon sauce over vegetable.
For carrots (on which we lived for years after WWII in England), she added a little white vinegar. Other spices can be substituted for the ground nutmeg.
Sounds delicious. I love raw kohlrabi, but steamed with a white sauce like this, I have to try it!
I’ve never fixed kohlrabi…but raw is always better according to my better half…and it was good. I failed to peel off all of the ‘woody’ outer layer, so I will endeavor to make sure that happens in the future. I also used spicy brown mustard as I didn’t have dijon on hand, but still enjoyed the end result.
Peeling a bit more of the outer layer worked miracles: NO WOODY layer to chew through.