S T A R T E R S
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e adore a knobbly vegetable, and few rock the look quite so well as the mild, sweet kohlrabi, which looks like a jolly, pale green World War II anti-shipping mine – or perhaps a cartoon Sputnik – with its squat, fat bulb and numerous antennae-like shoots. When you’re not used to them, kohlrabi – part unknown bulb, part bundle of greens, and all odd-looking – can appear positively extra-terrestrial, like some alien space plant has landed in the organic vegetable aisle. But wait! Lay aside your prejudices! Much about this thing is actually highly familiar, being nothing more than part of the cabbage family – the name means ’turnip cabbage’ in German, which pretty much says it all – with a pleasingly crisp, crunchy texture, often likened to an overgrown radish or broccoli stems. The taste? A little bit turnip, a little bit water chestnut, but vaguely spicier than both. As it’s packed with vitamin C and potassium, kohlrabi is virtuous too. People get confused about kohlrabi. They think it’s a winter vegetable, but it’s not. Though kohlrabi is available all year around, peak season runs from mid-July through November, and the smaller, early season versions you get about now (they’re only the size of a golf ball, growing to tennis ball proportions later) see kohlrabi at its jaunty best.
KOhLRaBI WELL NOW, HERE’S A FUNNY LOOKING FELLOW. KOHLRABI MAY NOT BE HANDSOME IN THE CONVENTIONAL SENSE, BUT THIS UNIQUELY INTIMIDATING INHABITANT OF THE FARMER'S MARKET OFFERS A UNIQUE MIX OF FAMILIAR TASTES AND TEXTURES, AND JUST WANTS TO BE LOVED
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