You might have noticed an odd looking vegetable at the farmers market recently. It is shaped like Sputnik, the spherical Russian satellite with spikes coming out of it. It can be green or purple, large or small. I bet you are a bit confused about how to prepare and eat it. I am here to help.
Kohlrabi is a member of the brassica family. Relatives include broccoli, cauliflower, turnips and kale. Both its bulb and its leaves are edible, it is tasty raw or cooked, and it plays nicely with many other ingredients. Eaten raw, kohlrabi’s flavor is similar to a raw broccoli stem, with a crunchy texture like a water chestnut. When cooked, kohlrabi becomes more intense, like a cross between broccoli and turnips, with the texture of a potato.
The hardest part of preparing kohlrabi is getting rid of the tough outer skin. First, remove all the leaves by snapping them off where they attach to the bulb. Next, to stabilize the little guy, slice off about 1/4 inch from the top and bottom of the vegetable and set it flat on the counter. Finally, using a large, sharp knife and working from top to bottom, slice off the skin in strips that follow the contour of the bulb. Now you’re good to go.
By the way, regardless of their outside hue, all kohlrabi are pale green inside and there is no difference in flavor.