Kohlrabi: Part 2

The kohlrabi dish I created this week was inspired by my sister-in-law's mantra: "everything tastes better if you add butter and cheese." My husband loves eating kohlrabi raw, but I've discovered that folding it into a creamy cheese sauce with lots of pasta is pretty good too!

Kohlrabi "Mac and Cheese"

5 Tbsp of Butter

1 cup of Onions, diced

1 cup of Celery, diced

1 clove of Garlic, crushed

3 Tbsp of Flour

3 cups of Milk, warmed

2 cups of Cheese, grated

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 pound of Penne, slightly undercooked

1 Kohlrabi bulb, diced

1 Zucchini, diced

1 cup of Breadcrumbs

In a large saucepan, melt 3 Tbsp butter on medium heat. Saute onions and celery for 5 minutes, until onions become translucent; add garlic and saute for an additional minute. Add flour and continue stirring for 2 minutes. Slowly incorporate milk, whisking continuously. Raise heat to high, continue stirring, and bring to a boil. Allow to bubble for 1-2 minutes, stirring all the while, and then remove from heat. Fold in almost all of the cheese, reserving about 1/4 cup; add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the penne, kohlrabi, and zucchini to the cheese sauce. Pour into a large, buttered, oven-proof dish, cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 Tbsp butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and combine with the dried breadcrumbs and the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.

After the penne has baked for 30 minutes, uncover and stir gently. Sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture and continue baking uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until the kohlrabi is tender and the topping has turned a nice golden brown. Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

Additional Notes:

This is a variation on my favorite mac and cheese recipe, which calls for four kinds of cheese: 1 cup of cheddar, 1/2 cup of gruyere, 1/4 cup of blue, and 1/4 cup of parmesan. The recipe is very forgiving, and as long as the total amount of cheese remains roughly consistent, substituting different varieties--asiago, colby jack, smoked cheddar--opens up countless tasty possibilities. Since the only cheese I had in the fridge this past week was a giant block of pecorino romano, I broke from my typical cheese-blending routine. The romano paired nicely with the kohlrabi and the zucchini.

Zucchini gives off quite a bit of water during the baking process, and this changes the consistency of the sauce. I "corrected" this by stirring at the 30 minute mark before adding the breadcrumbs. A more exacting cook would probably salt and drain before incorporating the zucchini to the recipe, in order to remove the excess water . . .

I baked my kohlrabi mac in a pie-pan and several individual serving-size ramekins. More trouble to cover with foil, but who doesn't love their very own baked dish of mac and cheese?