I can’t wait to see these kohlrabi the farm is promising. I hear they are 3-5 lbs each and unbelievably good and sweet! So if you’ve been leery of kohlrabi, this is the week to give yourself over to this wonderful vegetable. Lots of ideas below! And a quick note on the jalapenos–mine have been quite mild this season and assuming this week’s are too you can really use them as a wonderful seasoning most anywhere—in kohlrabi slaws, with the sweet peppers in a stew or sauce or frittata, etc. Happy cooking and eating!
Roasted Sweet Peppers with Parsley and Garlic
Peperonata
Quinoa, Toasted Bread and Tomato Salad
Kohlrabi Notes
Kohlrabi Salad with Parsley and Sumac
Kohlrabi Parmesan Fritters
Barley Risotto with Beans and Escarole
Escarole Salad Note
Roasted Sweet Peppers with Parsley and Garlic
This is the way sweet red peppers are prepared in many parts of Italy. It’s very simple and very good. This dish keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days so make extra and enjoy it for a while. And use however much parsley and garlic you like. It’s really a matter of taste.
4-5 sweet red peppers
10 sprigs of parsley, big stems discarded, chopped
1 medium clove garlic, minced
Good-tasting olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Set oven to broil.
Rinse peppers. Place them on a baking sheet and place about 4-6 inches under the broiler. Broil, turning as one side blisters and turns black. When they are blackened all around remove from oven, place in a bowl and cover with a dishtowel. Let steam and cool until you can handle them. Remove the stems and seeds. Chop into large-ish pieces (1 ½ – 2-inch square). Toss in a bowl with the remainder of the ingredients. Adjust seasoning. Let sit to let flavors marry for 15 minutes if you can. Serve with bread, cheese, grilled anything, salads, a frittata, etc. . . Great on sandwiches as well.
Peperonata
The classic Italian Peperonata is made with peppers, onions, and tomatoes. This version includes potatoes which makes it a more substantial dish and with a green salad and piece of bread, a perfect summer/fall dinner.
¼ cup olive oil
2 medium or 1 ½ large onions, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
¼ – ½ teaspoon of hot chili flakes (to taste)
2-3 medium tomatoes, diced
3-4 sweet peppers, washed, deseeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon or more kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan, add the onions and several generous pinches of salt and sauté until they are translucent. Do not let them brown (though the dish will still be delicious, so don’t worry if you do). Add the potatoes and cook slowly, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Add the chili pepper and tomatoes and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. Add the peppers, garlic, black pepper and another pinch or two of salt and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the peppers are tender. Serve hot or at room temperature. Drizzle with a little more olive oil at the table.
Quinoa, Toasted Bread and Tomato Salad
–adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
This is hearty and delicious and a perfect way to celebrate what’s close to the last of the tomatoes. Use your heirlooms for this dish.
¼ cup quinoa
4 sliced good, crusty bread (like Grand Central Levain or some such)
scant 1/3 cup plus olive oil plus more for brushing on the bread
Salt
2 large tomatoes, cut into ¾-inch diced
1 or 2 sweet peppers, cut into small dice or thin slices
½ small onion, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)
1 ½ tablespoons chopped mint
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon red wine vinegar (more to taste)
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the quinoa in a small sauce pan with boiling water and cook for 9-10 minutes or until tender. Drain in a fine sieve, rinse under cold water and let dry.
Brush the bread with a little oil and sprinkle with salt. Lay the slices on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, turning them over halfway through. The bread should be completely dry and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down, then break into different-sized pieces by hand.
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and gently but thoroughly toss. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Kohlrabi Notes
The farm reports that the kohrabi this week is giant (3-5lbs each), and also really delicious. It’s super juicy, crunchy and has a subtle sweetness and great flavor they’ve been likening to jicama. It’s definitely the best any of the folks at the farm have ever had, and they’ve mostly been eating/using it raw.
In addition to the salad and fritters below you can grate the kohlrabi and make a lovely, fresh slaw with it. You can use rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil and ginger and lime juice and minced jalapeno or use cider vinegar, olive oil and ground cumin and chili flakes. . . You can mix in grated beets and/or carrots (though all will go pink!).
You can also roast wedges or chunks of kohlrabi, tossed in olive oil and salt.
You can cook and mash it like mashed potatoes, adding butter, salt, pepper and dill if you have any.
Kohlrabi Salad
–adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
½ a kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 2/3-inch dice
1 tablespoons mint leaves, torn
½ cup of parsley leaves
Dressing:
1/2 cup Greek yoghurt
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 small garlic clove, finely grated or mashed
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon sumac, for serving
Place the diced kohlrabi in a large mixing bowl.
Mix the dressing: place the yoghurt, sour cream, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a small bowl. Add the salt, black pepper, and other seasonings, and whisk together until smooth. Add the dressing to the kohlrabi and stir to combine well. Place in a serving bowl and gently toss with herbs and sprinkle with sumac, and serve.
Kohlrabi Parmesan Fritters
–inspired by smittenkitchen.com
While the kohlrabi is good raw I love it cooked just as much and these fritters are terribly addictive. They’re perfect with a fried egg on top or just with some Greek (or whole milk yogurt) that you’ve doctored with a little minced garlic, salt and lemon juice and/or lots of chopped parsley.
About 10 2.5-inch fritters
1 lb kohlrabi (about half of one of the smaller ones!), peeled and chopped into small-ish chunks
2 eggs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (or other grating cheese—sharp cheddar is fine too)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1 jalapeno, minced
Olive or vegetable oil for frying
Cook the kohlrabi in a pan with 1/2–inch or so of water for 8-10 minutes until tender. Drain and let cool slightly.
Meanwhile lightly beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the flour, cheese, garlic, salt, and jalapeno. Then, add kohlrabi and, using a potato masher, mash it up a bit. You want to keep the bits recognizable, but small enough (1/4- to 1/2-inch chunks) that you can press a mound of the batter into a fritter in the pan. Once mashed a bit, stir or fold the ingredients together the rest of the way with a spoon. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a tablespoon or two of oil. Once the oil is hot (you can test it by flicking a droplet of water into it; it should hiss and sputter), scoop a two tablespoon-size mound of the batter and drop it into the pan, then flatten it slightly with your spoon or spatula. Repeat with additional batter, leaving a couple inches between each. Once brown underneath, about 2 to 3 minutes, flip each fritter and cook on the other side until equally golden, about another 1 to 2 minutes.
You can keep them warm in a 200 degree oven if you’re not eating them right away. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil as needed. Serve with some of the suggestions listed in the head notes, above.
Barley Risotto with Beans and Escarole
–adapted from Food and Wine via smittenkitchen.com
This is creamy, delicious and perfect for this blustery weather.
And do play around with this dish — try different broths, such as beef or mushroom. Skip the beans, swap a cooked vegetable. Use your favorite greens and adjust the cooking time accordingly. Add a clove of garlic, use romano instead of parmesan, dollop in some crème fraîche at the end; use red wine or skip the wine. I know it can sometimes be overwhelming to have too many options but the possibilities here are really endless, and a little extra tinkering could make a staple out of this dish for you. And you could certainly sauté a bunch of peppers with the onion in addition to using the beans or instead of.
Serves 3 to 4
5 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
1 cup pearled or semi-pearled barley (if you have hulled, not pearled barley, par boil it for 10 minutes and then proceed with the recipe)
1 cup cooked beans (white, pinto, borlotti, etc. )
4 cups chopped escarole
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Salt and freshly ground pepper
In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a simmer over moderately high heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm.
In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and thyme and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Add the barley and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine if using and cook, stirring until absorbed, about one minute. Add 1 cup of the warm stock and cook, stirring, until nearly absorbed. Continue adding the stock 1/2 cup at a time in six additions — you’ll have a cup of stock left in the pot — stirring until it is nearly absorbed between additions. Most barley risottos are done when the barley is al dente and suspended in a thick, creamy sauce, about 35 minutes, however, I like to take this one a little “soupier” adding another half to one cup of stock. (This gives the beans something to drink up, and you a margin of error if you grains continue to absorb the stock once you think they are done.) Stir it in until the risotto is on the loose side, then add the beans and let them cook for a minute. Add the escarole and let it wilt and then cook for an additional minute. Stir in the 1/2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano and the butter and season with salt and pepper. Serve at once, passing more cheese at the table.
Do ahead: Although it’s not generally ideal to reheat rice risottos, I actually enjoyed this barley one reheated. Keep the flame low, splash in some more broth if it seems thick and slowly warm the dish, stirring. Top with extra cheese.
Escarole Salad Note
I love heartier and more strongly flavored greens for salads and escarole is a favorite. It stands up beautifully to Caesar-like dressings or capers and hardboiled eggs. It will be wonderful this week with lots of parsley and sturdy dressing. Thinly sliced peppers and even diced, boiled potatoes would make lovely additions to the escarole. Enjoy!