Currabinny Cooks: What is kohlrabi and three recipes that use it

kohlrabi might not look like much but is delicious, versatile and nutritious

Kohlrabi with pinto beans and coriander. Picture: Bríd O'Donovan 

For most of our culinary journey, there were very few vegetables that we didn’t explore at least a little bit. We have actively sought out exotic varietals and rare heirlooms — but somehow missed a rather ordinary one. Kohlrabi doesn’t look like much at first glance, we could be forgiven for ignoring it all this time due to aesthetics alone. There are, however, many ordinary-looking vegetables we both love and use regularly. In our defence, it is rarely seen in cookbooks or on restaurant menus, at least in this country. 

Our kohlrabi awakening happened quite recently when we ate at one of our favourite Dublin restaurants: ETTO Merrion row. All of the food was exceptional. We ordered Côte de Boeuf, thickly-sliced Italian-style with all of the wonderful trimmings and a side salad for something lighter. It was this side salad that blew our minds more than all of the other wonderful things. It was an incredibly simple salad of incredibly thinly shaved kohlrabi, crunchy, fresh, and mildly spicy, it was lightly tossed with the rocket, thin slices of radish, capers, olive oil and a pinch of salt to make one of the most refreshing salads we've ever had. In the time since our epiphany, we have become kohlrabi obsessives.

Its unique name is derived from the German word for cabbage (kohl) and turnip (rabi).  There are two varieties: green kohlrabi with a pale green root and green leaves and purple kohlrabi with a purple bulb and purplish veins on the stems and leaves. Seek out bulbs that still have their leaves attached as it is a good indicator that the veg is fresh and that it was harvested recently because the leaves wilt faster than the bulb. 

The bulbs themselves should be enclosed with skin that's very firm and tight. Smaller or younger bulbs will be slightly sweeter than larger ones. Although the bulb of the plant is the most frequently prepared and eaten portion, the leaves are also entirely edible and can be eaten like beetroot tops or kale. Kohlrabi is protected by a thick skin, which is either purple or pale green. There are no flavour variances between the colours, and the 'meat' inside is all the same off-white colour. Always peel the bulb, because the outside layer is rather fibrous and unpleasant. It won’t break down after being cooked.

Kohlrabi is equally tasty raw or cooked and packs a lot of nutrition. It is a great source of fibre and resistant starch. It is also rich in vitamins and minerals such as potassium, iron, calcium, manganese and copper.

Kohlrabi and parsnip with dates, honey and yoghurt

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

Reading the list of ingredients, you might be scratching your head wondering how on earth these ingredients go together in the same dish, but trust them — and us. This dish is distinctly savoury in flavour but with a rich, sweet warmth from the parsnip, d

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Total Time

 5 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 2 parsnip, peeled and grated

• 1 kohlrabi, peeled and finely sliced

• Juice of 1 lemon

• Sea salt

• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

• 1 tbsp runny honey

• 300g Greek yoghurt

• 50g pitted mejool dates, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil

• 1 clove of garlic, crushed

• 4 spring onions, sliced thinly

• 2 tsp sumac

Method

1. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the kohlrabi, and half the lemon juice along with a good pinch of sea salt. In another bowl mix the yoghurt, remaining lemon juice, smaller pinch of sea salt, garlic, olive oil and honey.

2. Stir in the chopped dates and scoop out into two serving bowls. Place the kohlrabi and parsnip on top and scatter over the spring onions, sesame seeds and lastly a sprinkling of sumac.

Kohlrabi, pinto beans and coriander

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This is a brilliant little dish for a lunchbox. It can be made in batch at the start of the week and keeps perfectly in the fridge. Cooked kohlrabi has that wonderful quality of being both light and filling at the same time

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 5 mins

Total Time

 10 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 390g tin pinto beans, rinsed and drained

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 300g daikon (mooli) radish or black radish, peeled and cubed 

• 1 kohlrabi bulb, peeled and cubed

• 125ml white wine

• 1 lemon, juiced and zested

• 1 clove of garlic, crushed

• Handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the diced kohlrabi and radish and gently cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes.

2. Add the white wine and cover the pot, cooking for around 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened.

3. Add in the beans, lemon juice and zest and crushed garlic.

4. Finally, mix in remaining two tablespoons of olive oil, the chopped coriander, sesame seeds and a little sea salt and black pepper. Eat warm or cold.

Shaved kohlrabi salad with sheep's cheese and mint

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This is our own shaved kohlrabi salad, loosely inspired by the life-changing one we had at Etto

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 10 mins

Course

 Starter

Ingredients

• 1 medium kohlrabi, peeled and very thinly sliced or shaved

• 6 small radish, very thinly sliced

• Juice of 1 lemon

• Pinch sea salt

• Freshly-cracked black pepper

• Small handful of torn mint leaves

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1-2 tbsp fresh pomegranate seeds

• 80g of hard sheep's cheese like Cáis na Tíre or Pecorino

Method

1. Place the kohlrabi shavings and thinly-sliced radish in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon along with a good pinch of sea salt and pepper.

2. Mix everything together and leave to marinate for around 10 minutes. Arrange the ingredients on a serving platter and scatter over the mint leaves and pomegranate seeds. Lastly shave over the hard sheeps cheese on top before serving.