Pickled Kohlrabi

It is no random chalk-it-to-bizarre phenomenon that there is a series of kohlrabi posts here. 'Tis the season. All of a sudden, these sprightly bulbs are everywhere. Well, not in my garden - yet - but, every other market I go to offers these quirky-looking bulbs practically free.

A couple of large bulbs, along with some okra, got pickled in vinegar for a quick snack.

Just a simple vinegar pickling that can be looked up on the web: equal parts white vinegar and water with some salt, simmered till salt is dissolved, plus some peppercorns, garlic cloves, dry red chilies, caraway, and dill weed. 

Pack a jar with kohlrabi batons and okra, pour the hot vinegar mixture, top with a kohlrabi leaf to keep it all submerged, then, allow to cool a bit, cover, and leave it in the fridge for a week or so for flavors to develop.

As for me, in about 4 or 5 days, I start dipping into the jar and snacking on these crisp tart little veggies. They are good additions to layered salads as well. Some chickpeas, come chopped pickled kohlrabi, some marinated beans all add up to a delicious salad.

A fantastic alternative to pickled baby cucumbers aka "pickles", these pickled kohlrabi batons are easy to make and fun to snack on. Of course, I had to throw in some okra as my daughter and I can't seem to get enough of pickled okra.

Braised Kohlrabi Leaves & Bok Choy with Buckwheat Soba and Okra

I had stashed away some of the smaller, torn-up kohlrabi leaves after using the big ones for the Stuffed Kohlrabi Leaf Dolma Bites. These bits and pieces of kohlrabi leaves along with some bok choy leaves, plus a splash of Zenjiang vinegar and vegetable stock came together for braising.

Simply heat a teaspoon of sesame oil in a pan, add 3 cups of packed leaves and 3 cloves of crushed garlic, turn them around till lightly golden all around, add a teaspoon of Zenjiang vinegar (a little goes a long way!) and a cup of vegetable stock, cover and cook till greens are tender. Fish out the greens and reduce the liquid, if any, to pour over the greens when serving.

Some okra, onions, and tomatoes came together with Braggs Liquid Aminos and Sambal Oelek for the warm okra side.

Served at room temperature with cold soba noodles, this is a wonderful summer dish for a weeknight evening that comes together very quickly.

Pan-roasted Radish and Brussels Sprouts

I

A big bunch of rainbow radish hop-skip-and-jumped into my shopping basket at the farmers market.

Rather than adding it raw to salads or cooking Indian-style Dal or Sambar, I went with a searing and pan-roasting them with Brussels sprouts.  Flavoring with Balsamic vinegar, mirin, and Braggs Liquid Aminos, and sautéing the radish greens along with the radishes and Brussels sprouts, seemed to make the dish all the more appealing.

Brussles Sprouts by themselves are relished in many ways at home, a few of which are shared in the Brussels Sprouts Fete post about four years ago. And, am sure this combo of radishes and Brussles sprouts can be cooked in any of those delicious methods.

With some Tabbouleh and pan-roasted sweet potato medallions, the roasted radish and Brussels sprouts rounded out a simple but filling weeknight meal.

The sweet potato medallions were roasted on a cast iron skillet with a touch of brown sugar for caramelization. 

Tabbouleh, a quick and simple salad,  tastes even better the next day. Just some chopped celery, carrots, purple cabbage, sweet onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, feta, walnuts, apples, cranberries, parsley tossed with softened bulgur. Of course, bulgur is high in carbs, complex carbs - but also high in fiber and low in fat, plus has a nice amount of protein. Being a low GI food, I like that it is easy to make and is good all round.

The dressing is just lime/lemon juice and olive oil, some salt to taste, plus a splash of orange zest for this tabbouleh.

I had a small lump of Jalapeño goat cheese and served small discs of it as garnish to add a bite to the roasted radish and Brussels sprouts.

Stuffed Kohlrabi Greens Dolma Bites

Seasonal blueberry-picking and jam-making happened last weekend. I was all set to pay for the berries we picked and head back home when a gorgeous crisp bunch of cheerful kohlrabi jumped up at me. I couldn't resist. I brought it home with much gung-ho, only to get caught up in a million household tasks that couldn't wait any longer. So, the kohlrabi bunch sat there and waited patiently.

I had mentally made some Stuffed Kohlrabi in Coconut Cream Sauce and some Kohlrabi Naan and Kohlrabi Greens Koottu and was thrilled to have used up this new bunch of kohlrabi in fitting ways. Of course, mental-cooking is not the same as actual-cooking. So the kohlrabi sat there, sporting a pout and threatening to wilt. I had to act fast.

That's how the kohlrabi greens got made into these grape-leaf-dolma-like steamed rolls filled with spiced and fragrant rice and vegetables. Much like Swiss Chard Dolma and Collard Green Bites and Cabbage Rolls, these Kohlrabi Greens Dolma Bites were much relished by adults. Kids, not so much.

The filling is a favorite: rice sautéed with vegetables and flavored with aromatic spices, some walnuts and dried cranberries. Since the filling is a favorite side for dinners, I made quite a big batch and saved some. About a dozen large kohlrabi leaves got trimmed and washed and patted dry, ready to be stuffed and steamed.

After steaming for about 12 minutes, I sautéed them in olive oil and garnished with fresh cranberries and blueberries and some sesame seeds. The tartness of the cranberries plus the juicy sweetness of the blueberries complement the spice filling and the savory leaves.

As to the kohlrabi bulbs, they are getting pickled in vinegar - some of them at least. The rest might become fritters or stuffing when I find a pocket of time next.

Ingredients
12 to 14 kohlrabi leaves of uniform size
1 Tablespoon olive oil for sauteing
Favorite garnishes

Filling:
1 cup cooked rice
2 cups finely chopped mixed vegetables - onions, colorful bell peppers, tomatoes, Serrano chilies, cauliflower, cabbage
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Seasoning spices to taste - salt, chili powder, curry powder, paprika, turmeric, cumin powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Preparation

1. Filling: Heat the oil in a pan; add the veggies, saute a bit; then add the spices and saute some more; cover a cook till tender; then add in the rice and adjust seasoning
2. Spoon enough filling onto each kohlrabi leaf and wrap it tight like a burrito and place it in the steaming basket, free side down
3. Steam fro about 12 minutes; remove from steam
4. Heat oil in a pan, place the steamed rolled leaves gently on the pan; turn them over to gently saute all sides
5. Serve warm, garnished with favorite berries and nuts

Cheesy Sweet Potato and Cabbage Savory Bread

A thick slice of savory bread is perfect as tea time snack or as a quick lunch-mate for salads. While the sweetish cake-like zucchini bread and banana-blueberry bread and sweet potato bread get a huge raving endorsement, these savory breads are gaining in popularity as well with the kids lately.

The tiny wedge of purple cabbage that was relegated to the deep recesses of the crisper tray -- since I rarely throw away any vegetable before they are beyond redemption -- finally saw the light of day, but not for too long.

Why purple cabbage and sweet potato? asked the nicer half of the adult team at home.
Why not? I replied with conviction.

Ingredients
Wet:
1 cup finely chopped purple cabbage
1 cup mushed cooked sweet potato
2 eggs beaten
½ cup light olive oil
½ cup milk
1 cup grated cheeses - Parmesan and Colby jack or Cheddar
Dry:
¼ cup flax meal
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (reduce if preferred)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
½ cup chopped walnuts

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 ° F
2. Combine the wet ingredients in a large bowl and stir till well incorporated
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, sifting the flour
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture stirring gently and folding it in
5. Pour into a greased standard loaf pan and bake in 350 °F oven for 35 to 40 minutes till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
6. Cool on a wire rack before slicing
7. Serve with plain whipped cream cheese

Cream of Asparagus Soup

I was all set to post this Cream of Asparagus soup recipe last time and then goofed up a bit -- ended up with mismatched title and recipe as I posted the recipe for the Cream of Arugula soup with the title "Cream of Asparagus soup." Sorry for the confusion, I've gone back and fixed that error.

Same general procedure as for Cream of Arugula soup here - I do love my pressure cooker for making creamy soups, only no moong dal this time. I prefer the texture to be coarse and dense for the Cream of Arugula soup so I didn't strain it. But for this Cream of Asparagus soup, since I use the thicker parts of the stalk for cooking, I strain it to get the chewy bits out.

Asparagus is from a local farm and yet it is a bit pricey here, but it has been quite a hot Spring so far.

This recipe is quite close to the ever-popular Cream of Kohlrabi soup that comes about this time of the year.

Ingredients
1 lb asparagus, woody parts removed, chopped
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon grated ginger
2 Serrano chilies, chopped coarsely
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup grated Colby jack cheese
½ cup crème fraîche or heavy cream
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Heat the olive oil in the pressure cooker pan, add the onions, ginger, chilies and saute with a pinch of salt till aromatic and onions turn translucent
2. Add the chopped asparagus and stock, cover and cook in the pressure cooker, reserving some tips for garnish
3. When safe to open the pressure cooker, puree with a hand blender till smooth; then strain to remove coarse, chewy fibrous bits
4. Simmer gently, stir in the cheeses to thicken, then the cream and turn off stove
5. Garnish with blanched asparagus tips and serve warm

Cream of Arugula Soup

In the recent heat wave, and my partial neglect, the home garden arugula shot up and bolted. While its delicate white flowers were pretty, I didn't want it to go to seed too soon and spread wildly. So, I snipped the lot of it, stem and all, leaving  just enough for it to possibly recover by autumn.

Of course, salads with arugula tossed in is a staple, but this time I was craving for some hearty dal-like soup. 

I discarded the bottom few inches of chewy woody arugula stalk but used the rest of the thick stem and leaves and flowers for this soup. To add body and protein, I went with the staple moong dal.

This easy-to-cook thick and creamy arugula soup can be served chilled on a hot summer day. I prefer it warm with a hunk of Olive Ciabatta bread.

Ingredients

5 cups chopped washed arugula, stem and all

1 cup moong dal, uncooked (aka mung bean, green gram)

2 Serrano chilies, chopped (reduce if preferred)

1 medium onion diced

2 vine tomatoes cut into quarters

6 cloves of garlic, peeled and ready

1 Tablespoon Coconut oil

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoon cumin powder 

2 Tablespoon coriander powder

3 cups stock or water

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Wash and drain the moong dal, keep handy 

2. Heat coconut oil in pressure cooker pan, add onions, chilies, garlic, and tomatoes and sauté till aromatic 

3. Add the washed and drained moong dal and sauté some more 

4. Add the chopped arugula, some salt, stock or water, and stir well

5. Put the lid on and pressure cook; since dal cooks quite fast, can also just cook in a saucepan instead of pressure cooker

6. When done and safe to open the pressure cooker, stir in the spice powders and simmer gently on low heat

7. Use a hand blender or potato masher to mush up the cooked dal and veggies

8. Stir in some heavy cream and turn off heat; adjust flavored to taste

9. Garnish with spring onions and chives and serve warm or cold