Kohlrabi can be the trickiest vegetable in your CSA box.
Community-supported agriculture boxes are how many of us are introduced to lesser-known produce items such as kohlrabi. The odd-shaped member of the Brassica family (which also includes cabbage and broccoli) isn’t as easy to find in a grocery store as at a farmers market, and if a CSA farm grows kohlrabi, you’re sure to receive it in your weekly box.
But what to do with it? You can braise or roast the peeled and sliced kohlrabi, but since it doesn't really soften too much when it cooks, you might as well take advantage of its crisp crunch. This recipe from Kim Kushner's "The New Kosher" (Weldon Owen, $35) uses both carrots and kohlrabi, as well as sugar snap peas, in a tangy ginger-miso marinade for a bright winter salad. The marinade is really a dressing, which you can use on all kinds of salads, but when you let the vegetables sit in the dressing for a few minutes before serving, they soak up some of the flavor.
Miso is a probiotic-packed ingredient you can find in many stores these days, and it’s good to have on hand if you love the miso soup served at Japanese restaurants. To make the soup, simply add a spoonful of miso to hot water or a vegetable broth. You can add sliced green onions, silken tofu and nori (dried seaweed) if you like, but the miso in broth is satisfying on its own.
Kohlrabi, Edamame and Carrots in Ginger-Miso Marinade
For the salad:
4 large carrots, about 1/2 lb. total weight, peeled and cut into matchsticks
3 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
2 handfuls of sugar snap peas, trimmed and sliced
For the ginger-miso marinade:
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup white miso
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. raw pure honey
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
In a bowl, toss together the carrots, kohlrabi, edamame and snap peas.
To make the marinade, in a food processor, combine the carrots and ginger and pulse until finely chopped. Add the miso, oils, vinegar, honey, and 1/4 cup water and process until thickened. Transfer to a glass jar and stir in the sesame seeds.
Pour about 1 cup of the marinade over the salad and toss well. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Store the remaining marinade in the tightly capped jar in the fridge for up to one month. Serves 6 to 8.
— From "The New Kosher" by Kim Kushner (Weldon Owen, $35)
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