This is not Ann Widdecombe. I lied. It's a chou-rave (kohlrabi or cabbage turnip in English) and I'd never seen one until Nainbo gave me some from his garden last week. The bulbous part looks like a small white cabbage, but it peels like a turnip and has the same texture and firmness; and it tastes like cabbage and turnip but slightly sweeter and milder than both. The leaves can also be eaten -raw in salad or cooked in the same way as spinach.
You're supposed to pick them when they're golf ball-sized or they can be woody, but here in the mountains they like to wait until their vegetables are growing bark, so this one was a little past its prime.
But like the plucky Ann, I set about making a meal of it - and made a potato and chou-rave gratin.
You want equal quantities of chou-rave and potato. Peel and thinly slice the veg and cook in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and place the veg in a shallow ovenproof dish and cover with single cream, a couple of handfuls of grated cheese and top with seasoned breadcrumbs. Place in the oven on a medium heat for about 25 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are crispy and the veg is cooked.
♫ Cook along to: The Troggs Wild Thing
10 comments:
Baby kohlrabi (golf-ball sized) are delicious raw sliced julienne-style, either as crudités with dip, or in green salad. They like coolish temps, and are quite easy to grow in the spring or autumn vegetable garden, where they look like something that dropped in from outer space; just don't let your tinfoil-hatted local UFO-believing brigade see them, though ;-)))
Kathie - Thanks for that recipe. I could have tried that when I was in my remoulade groove last week - but I doubt I would have been able to find any small enough!
well sarah, you say my kitchen is lovely, your kitchen is stunning! Looks like a slick, tidy version of mine... really will aspire to your picture when we start remodelling the house next year!
Dom - Thanks! It's not always this tidy!
I'm a recent convert to the kohlrabi, esp, as i grew it for the first time this year. Awesome to watch grow and look at; and good to eat.
I must admit I have never tried kohlrabi, so I was intrigued by your recipe. I thought it was a powerful vegetable, must have got it confused with another.
I've not seen one of those either, but you've made it look very photogenic with your gorgeous photos!
♫ Cook along to: The Troggs Wild Thing
Ever notice how incredibly passé the term "groovy" is? And we used to think it was so hip ;-)
Every night you tell me you are busy writing a new blog!
Get on with it!
In case you're interested, "2010's Best Cookbooks: Real-Life Labors Of Love":
http://www.npr.org/
2010/11/16/131357002/2010-s-best-
cookbooks-real-life-labors-of-love
(I assume you can order any of them online, if you so desire)
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