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?

Kohlrabi

One of my favorite things about City Fresh is the way it forces me out of my produce comfort zone and gets me to try new things I've never (knowingly!) eaten before. So I was very pleased when I discovered that kohlrabi was part of this week's share. Since the bulb and the leaves are both edible, I decided to make "kohlrabi two ways." For the first preparation, I diced up the white flesh of the bulb to create a kohlrabified version of one of my favorite Indian dishes, Saag Aloo, Spinach with Potatoes. For the second, the kohlrabi leaves and my City Fresh zucchini were combined with an array of spices to make a tasty vegetarian curry.

The recipe for the second prep needs a little more work, but for now, here's what I did to make a kohlrabi-saag:

Indian Spinach and Kohlrabi

1/2 tsp Whole YellowMustard Seeds

1 tsp of Ground Cumin, Ground Coriander, and Garam Masala

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1/4 tsp Cayenne

1 Tbsp of Oil

1 tsp of Garlic and Ginger Paste

1 cup of Kohlrabi, in smallish chunks

1 cup of Onion, diced

1 lb of Frozen Spinach, defrosted

Salt and Pepper

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil on medium-high heat until it glistens. Add the mustard seeds. Once they begin to pop, add the garlic, ginger, and spices. Stir for about one minute, until the mixture becomes pungently fragrant. Trust your nose--you'll know when it happens!

Add kohlrabi chunks, diced onion, and spinach to the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat, covered, for 20 minutes. Check the kohlrabi, and continue cooking until it reaches desired tenderness.