Cool Kohlrabi
Printer Friendly VersionNow that I'm a grown-up kitchen gardener, I continue the tradition and grow both violet and green varieties of kohlrabi. I plant them in a pretty mosaic pattern each spring and fall and then stand back to watch and enjoy visitors' reactions to the eye-catching shape of this unusual vegetable.
Kohlrabi plants form bulbs, actually edible swollen stems, just above the ground that are shaped like round tennis balls. They are green or deep violet-purple depending on the variety, with ruffled foliage that looks like broccoli leaves growing out of the bulb's tops and sides. Many friends gaze in amazement when they first see my kohlrabi bed. Neighborhood kids have always called it my "flying saucer" or "space ship" vegetable. Yet anyone with a Slavic or Asian background smiles fondly and licks their lips because they know how tasty the crunchy mild flesh of these eccentric looking bulbs can be both raw and cooked.
Kohlrabi's name is a combination of the German words for cabbage and turnip, but to me, the flavor of the bulbs crisp flesh is sweeter than either of its family members. Peeled kohlrabi bulbs are juicy with a delicate sweet flavor that I would describe as a cross between apples and very mild baby turnips. Elizabeth Schneider, in her classic Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables (Harper and Row 1986), says that to her, kohlrabi tastes "like the freshest, crunchiest broccoli stems, touched with a hint of radish and cucumber."
Growing great kohlrabi is easy and rewarding. It needs a good rich soil, preferring a neutral to slightly acid pH. Prepare your garden bed for planting by digging in lots of well aged manure or compost. While you can grow a fine crop of kohlrabi by direct sowing, I prefer to set out young seedlings started indoors from seed no more than 5 to 6 weeks before the last expected frost date. I find that healthy, sturdy transplants are better able to survive lurking slugs or snails and unexpected inclement weather. |
To purchase other Renee's Garden Seeds, click here
|
Kohlrabi is not prone to serious pest problems, but to totally avoid predators and make my gardening easier, I usually cover the seedlings after transplanting with floating row covers which are permeable to both light and water. While they are not the most beautiful garden accessories, I find these row covers stabilize growing conditions and protect crops against any insect infestation. I remove them when plants are well established and beginning form baby bulbs, at about 6 to 8 inches tall. If you don't use row covers, a strong spray of water or insecticidal soap solution controls aphids or white flies and 2 to 3 inch cardboard collars averts cutworms. Non-toxic BT is an effective way to deal with cabbage moth larvae or other caterpillar pests. Limit disease potential in your garden by planting kohlrabi and all its brassica relatives in 3 year rotations.
I begin to harvest kohlrabi when they reach 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Cut the stem about an inch below the round bulbs. Trim off the leaves to cook separately and store the thick skinned bulbs in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator. They will keep well for at least 3 weeks to cook up as you need them. I still enjoy kohlrabi sliced up raw best of all, but now I like to use both leaves and bulbs as cooked vegetables too. The leaves make a wonderful greens. Cut out and discard the stems, then drop the leaves into a pot of boiling salted water. Cook until just tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Then heat some olive oil in a skillet, add garlic or chopped onion and sauté until fragrant and softened. Toss in the kohlrabi leaves and cook a few minutes more. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Peel and slice kohlrabi bulbs raw for snacks, just like you would slice up an apple. Thin slices make crispy sweet dip holders or can be used instead of crackers for creamy spreads. Slices are great to add to green salads instead of cucumbers. You'll find shredded raw kohlrabi makes especially mild, sweet coleslaw, and you can also make kohlrabi pickles.
Kohlrabi's mild flesh cooks up to tender sweet succulence. Peel off the outer skins and slice or cube to sauté slowly in sweet butter, or steam the unpeeled bulbs whole, then peel and cut up. Traditionally, cooked kohlrabi is served in a rich homemade cream sauce and it is quite delectable this way, especially with a few gratings of nutmeg added to the sauce. Stir fry kohlrabi with carrot slices, and scallions for a delicious and colorful side dish, seasoned lightly with fresh ginger root. I've found that cooked kohlrabi pairs beautifully with fresh herbs like lemon thyme, marjoram, summer savory, garlic chives, broad leafed parsley, or dill leaf and aromatics like curry, nutmeg, ginger or paprika. To finish a dish of herbed kohlrabi perfectly, add a dollop of sour cream or fresh, whole milk yogurt. Unpeeled, trimmed kohlrabi bulbs can also be baked in the oven. Just put them in a covered casserole with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until fork tender. Cool, peel and slice, and dress with a little butter and lemon and your favorite herbs or spices as above. I find that baking the bulbs is easy and really seems to intensify and concentrate their flavor.
In choosing varieties of kohlrabi to plant, I have found that the newer hybrids rather than the older Purple Vienna and Green Vienna, which tend to get pithy and tough with size. Our fast-growing purple and green-skinned Crispy Colors Duo mix makes a pretty picture in garden beds. These extra-fancy hybrids rapidly size up into crispy bulbs with thin skins and crunchy, sweet, white flesh. The violet varieties have dark violet skins and leaves and pale flesh. While they do not keep their purple coloration when cooked, they are especially lovely in the garden. Plant a second crop of kohlrabi for fall eating once summer heat begins to diminish. You can start the seeds in a container outdoors in light shade, then plant out seedlings in the garden, shading them for a few days until they are established. Fall kohlrabi is an especially sweet and tender treat you'll savor as an end of the season gardening reward every year. Try some of these curious and delicious vegetables in your garden this season.
Kohlrabi Sauté
- 4 medium kohlrabi bulbs
- 1 T butter or margarine
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 T fresh lemon juice
- 2 T chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 T fresh low fat sour cream
Peel the tough outer skin from the kohlrabi, then coarsely grate bulbs. In a skillet heat butter and olive oil. Add garlic, onion and kohlrabi and sauté, stirring for 5 to 7 minutes or until kohlrabi is tender crisp. Stir in lemon juice, parsley, then season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir in sour cream, and serve hot.
Serves 4 to 6
Pickled Kohlrabi
- 3 kohlrabi peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 2 large carrots peeled, cut into sticks, parboiled 3 minutes
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 large sprigs fresh dill
Pickling Mixture:
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 3 T sugar
- 1 tsp mustard seed
- 1/2 tsp dill seed
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
Combine kohlrabi and carrots and pack in a 1 quart glass jar along with garlic, bay leaf and fresh dill. In a saucepan combine pickling mixture ingredients and heat, stirring, until it boils and sugar is dissolved. Pour boiling mixture over kohlrabi filling jar completely. Cover jar. When cool, refrigerate for 3 to 4 days before using to let flavors blend.
Makes 1 quart
Kohlrabi's name is a combination of the German words for cabbage and turnip, but to me, the flavor of the bulbs crisp flesh is sweeter than either of its family members. Peeled kohlrabi bulbs are juicy with a delicate sweet flavor that I would describe as a cross between apples and very mild baby turnips. Elizabeth Schneider, in her classic Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables (Harper and Row 1986), says that to her, kohlrabi tastes "like the freshest, crunchiest broccoli stems, touched with a hint of radish and cucumber."
Growing great kohlrabi is easy and rewarding. It needs a good rich soil, preferring a neutral to slightly acid pH. Prepare your garden bed for planting by digging in lots of well aged manure or compost. While you can grow a fine crop of kohlrabi by direct sowing, I prefer to set out young seedlings started indoors from seed no more than 5 to 6 weeks before the last expected frost date. I find that healthy, sturdy transplants are better able to survive lurking slugs or snails and unexpected inclement weather. |
To purchase other Renee's Garden Seeds, click here
|
Kohlrabi is not prone to serious pest problems, but to totally avoid predators and make my gardening easier, I usually cover the seedlings after transplanting with floating row covers which are permeable to both light and water. While they are not the most beautiful garden accessories, I find these row covers stabilize growing conditions and protect crops against any insect infestation. I remove them when plants are well established and beginning form baby bulbs, at about 6 to 8 inches tall. If you don't use row covers, a strong spray of water or insecticidal soap solution controls aphids or white flies and 2 to 3 inch cardboard collars averts cutworms. Non-toxic BT is an effective way to deal with cabbage moth larvae or other caterpillar pests. Limit disease potential in your garden by planting kohlrabi and all its brassica relatives in 3 year rotations.
I begin to harvest kohlrabi when they reach 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Cut the stem about an inch below the round bulbs. Trim off the leaves to cook separately and store the thick skinned bulbs in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator. They will keep well for at least 3 weeks to cook up as you need them. I still enjoy kohlrabi sliced up raw best of all, but now I like to use both leaves and bulbs as cooked vegetables too. The leaves make a wonderful greens. Cut out and discard the stems, then drop the leaves into a pot of boiling salted water. Cook until just tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Then heat some olive oil in a skillet, add garlic or chopped onion and sauté until fragrant and softened. Toss in the kohlrabi leaves and cook a few minutes more. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Peel and slice kohlrabi bulbs raw for snacks, just like you would slice up an apple. Thin slices make crispy sweet dip holders or can be used instead of crackers for creamy spreads. Slices are great to add to green salads instead of cucumbers. You'll find shredded raw kohlrabi makes especially mild, sweet coleslaw, and you can also make kohlrabi pickles.
Kohlrabi's mild flesh cooks up to tender sweet succulence. Peel off the outer skins and slice or cube to sauté slowly in sweet butter, or steam the unpeeled bulbs whole, then peel and cut up. Traditionally, cooked kohlrabi is served in a rich homemade cream sauce and it is quite delectable this way, especially with a few gratings of nutmeg added to the sauce. Stir fry kohlrabi with carrot slices, and scallions for a delicious and colorful side dish, seasoned lightly with fresh ginger root. I've found that cooked kohlrabi pairs beautifully with fresh herbs like lemon thyme, marjoram, summer savory, garlic chives, broad leafed parsley, or dill leaf and aromatics like curry, nutmeg, ginger or paprika. To finish a dish of herbed kohlrabi perfectly, add a dollop of sour cream or fresh, whole milk yogurt. Unpeeled, trimmed kohlrabi bulbs can also be baked in the oven. Just put them in a covered casserole with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until fork tender. Cool, peel and slice, and dress with a little butter and lemon and your favorite herbs or spices as above. I find that baking the bulbs is easy and really seems to intensify and concentrate their flavor.
In choosing varieties of kohlrabi to plant, I have found that the newer hybrids rather than the older Purple Vienna and Green Vienna, which tend to get pithy and tough with size. Our fast-growing purple and green-skinned Crispy Colors Duo mix makes a pretty picture in garden beds. These extra-fancy hybrids rapidly size up into crispy bulbs with thin skins and crunchy, sweet, white flesh. The violet varieties have dark violet skins and leaves and pale flesh. While they do not keep their purple coloration when cooked, they are especially lovely in the garden. Plant a second crop of kohlrabi for fall eating once summer heat begins to diminish. You can start the seeds in a container outdoors in light shade, then plant out seedlings in the garden, shading them for a few days until they are established. Fall kohlrabi is an especially sweet and tender treat you'll savor as an end of the season gardening reward every year. Try some of these curious and delicious vegetables in your garden this season.
Kohlrabi Sauté
- 4 medium kohlrabi bulbs
- 1 T butter or margarine
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 T fresh lemon juice
- 2 T chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 T fresh low fat sour cream
Peel the tough outer skin from the kohlrabi, then coarsely grate bulbs. In a skillet heat butter and olive oil. Add garlic, onion and kohlrabi and sauté, stirring for 5 to 7 minutes or until kohlrabi is tender crisp. Stir in lemon juice, parsley, then season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir in sour cream, and serve hot.
Serves 4 to 6
Pickled Kohlrabi
- 3 kohlrabi peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 2 large carrots peeled, cut into sticks, parboiled 3 minutes
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 large sprigs fresh dill
Pickling Mixture:
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 3 T sugar
- 1 tsp mustard seed
- 1/2 tsp dill seed
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
Combine kohlrabi and carrots and pack in a 1 quart glass jar along with garlic, bay leaf and fresh dill. In a saucepan combine pickling mixture ingredients and heat, stirring, until it boils and sugar is dissolved. Pour boiling mixture over kohlrabi filling jar completely. Cover jar. When cool, refrigerate for 3 to 4 days before using to let flavors blend.
Makes 1 quart