Kohlrabi - what a funny old vegetable! It almost looks as if it has been grown on another planet! And let me tell you, with its sweet brassica flavour and deliciously refreshing crunch - the taste too is out of this world! You may have received this weeks veg box and be peering down in confusion as to what to do with this strange looking veg but fear not, luckily its actually very versatile and can be used in a variety of salads and side dishes as well as holding its own as the star attraction of a meal. The whole plant is edible so make sure not to throw away the leaves, they cook just like kale and can be used as a side of greens alongside most main courses.
We often use kohlrabi raw, simply sliced into fine strips and thrown together with some chopped coriander, a squeeze of orange juice and lime juice and some chopped fresh chillies make an excellent slaw to go alongside barbeque food or as a Mexican side. A classic Italian preparation is to slice the kohlrabi into rounds, blanche until tender and then serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and your best extra virgin olive oil. We’ve even found recipes layering kohlrabi and potatoes with a garlicy cream sauce to create an intersting variation on dauphinois.
This recipe is one way to utilise kohrabi as a main course. Its inspired by a classic Sicilian recipe and we think it tastes amazing. Its also really simple to make and only takes about as long as you need to boil your pasta!
Ingredients
2tsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling
1 kohlrabi with leaves intact
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp picked thyme leaves
100ml white wine
150g creme fraiche
Dried or fresh linguine
Parmesan shavings to garnish
Salt and black pepper
Method
Bring a pan of salted water to a boil
Prepare your kohlrabi - remove the leaves and set aside. Peel the bulb using a knife or vegetable peeler. Chop the kohlrabi into a 1cm dice
Finely chop the onion and garlic
Place a saute pan over medium low heat with the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic and most of the thyme (leaving a few sprigs for garnish) and sweat slowly.
Meanwhile add the diced kohlrabi to the boiling water and blanche for 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pieces - you will use the same water to cook your pasta.
Once the onions have softened nicely add the blanched kohlrabi to the saute pan.
Add the white wine and reduce to a syrup like consistency, Turn the heat down to its lowest setting and add the creme fraiche. Season with salt and cracked black pepper.
Cook the pasta according to the instructions. Add the kohlrabi leaves to the pasta pan for the last 4 minutes of cooking to blanche them.
Drain the pasta and the leaves.
Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well to coat.
Serve the pasta in a bowl, topped with the kohlrabi leaves, a few sprigs of fresh thyme and some parmesan shavings. Drizzle with olive oil and enjoy!