It’s going to be a hot week! The kohlrabi is so sweet and tender you may just snack on it as is or turn into a quick salad like the one with yogurt and mint and cilantro. You could also saute it in a little olive oil with nothing more than salt. The lettuces will be welcome with this weather. I would dress them with the simple vinaigrette from last week’s post, add some thinly sliced scallions, some chopped fennel fronds if you’d like and very thinly sliced fennel and maybe a few toasted sunflower seeds or nuts. And pick up a bunch of cilantro and mint since I call for it several times in these recipes.
Grilled/Broiled Napa Cabbage and Scallions with Miso Sauce
Napa Cabbage Slaw with Herbs
Israeli Couscous with Fennel and Lemon
Moroccan Bulgur With Chard and Harissa
Kohlrabi Salad
Scallion Pancakes
Grilled/Broiled Napa Cabbage and Scallions with Miso Sauce
If you have a grill, fire it up for this one or just use your broiler. Both work well and will enable you to get this beautiful plate of food on the table quickly. Serve over rice and make a little extra sauce and top with a fried egg and you have a meal. And have a steak knife ready at the table to cut up those pretty wedges or eat them with your hands and make a mess and have fun.
Serves 4-6
1 small to medium Napa cabbage, any ragged outer leaves removed and cabbage halved lengthwise and then cut into about 2-inch wedges. Do not remove any of the core as it’s key to the wedges staying together
1 small bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into about 4-inch length, cut thicker ones in half lengthwise
1/2 cup peanuts, toasted nice and dark
Oil, for brushing on cabbage and onions
For sauce:
2 tablespoons red or yellow miso
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or minced hot chili of any kind (optional)
Preheat your broiler or fire up your grill. Brush cabbage wedges with oil on both sides. Toss scallion pieces in a little oil as well. Grill or broil wedges until browning and softening, flip over, add onions and grill until both are beginning to char around the edges and are tender. Be careful not to burn the scallions and take those off first if they’re getting too dark. The cabbage will take somewhere between 5-10 per side, depending on your heat source
Meanwhile stir the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Toast peanuts (even if they’re already roasted) in a small skillet with a little oil and salt (unless they’re already quite salty) until dark, golden brown. Let cool on a cutting board and chop up a bit.
When ready to serve arrange cabbage and onions on a platter. Drizzle generously with the sauce and garnish with peanuts. Serve as a side or over rice and with an egg if you’d like.
Napa Cabbage Slaw with Herbs
I think the mint is key to this vibrant salad. Scale this as you’d like. If you have a big crowd use a whole head of cabbage.
Serves 4-6
½ head Napa cabbage, washed, dried and leaves cut in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise into ½-1-inch strips (about 8 cups of cabbage)
1/3 cup chopped mint leaves
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup basil leaves, thinly sliced (optional)
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced
A few radishes, cut into matchsticks (optional)
1-2 serrano chilies (seeded if you don’t like much heat), minced
Dressing
3 tablespoons whole milk Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lime, more to taste
3-4 cloves new garlic, minced and then mashed with coarse sea salt with the side of a chef’s knife
Freshly ground pepper and more sea salt
Put all the vegetables in a large salad bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and pour over salad. Toss well. Let sit for a few minutes and toss again and taste and adjust seasoning with salt and/or lime juice, etc.
Israeli Couscous with Fennel and Lemon
This is so fragrant and delicious and quite quick to make.
Serves 4 as a side or 2 as more of a main
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, finely diced
1 fennel bulb
1 cup Israeli Couscous
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
1 ½ cups boiling water
Juice of ½ lemon, more to taste
Zest of ½ lemon
½ cup (total) chopped fennel tops, cilantro and green onion tops, thinly sliced, for garnish
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes until starting to brown. Add cumin, coriander and fennel and a few pinches of salt and continue cooking over fairly high heat for about 3-5 minutes until browning and toasty smelling. Add the couscous and another splash of oil if things look dry and cook for another 3-5 minutes until the couscous is browning. Add the boiling water and another pinch or two of salt. Stir well, cover and turn down to a simmer. Cook, covered for about 12 to 15 minutes until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender. Take off the heat. Stir in the lemon zest and juice and fresh herbs/fennel and scallion tops. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Moroccan Bulgur With Chard and Harissa
This takes time to cook but putting it together is quick and just involves a bit of chopping. It is delicious with a fried or poached egg and extra harissa and some Greek yogurt or with a simple piece of baked, poached or panfried fish, or just as is! And it’s a perfect accompaniment to lamb in any form. Harissa is a Tunisian hot chili sauce whose main ingredients are piri piri (type of chili pepper), Serrano peppers and other hot chili peppers and spices such as garlic paste, coriander, red chili powder, caraway as well as some vegetable or olive oil. There are many store-bought brands and you can also make your own. Harissa varies in its level of spiciness so start moderately as you can always add more when serving.
Serves 4
2 medium onions, finely diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced (or more if it’s young and mild new garlic or 3 stalks green garlic)
1 large bunch de-stemmed and chopped chard (save the stems for another use)
1 cup bulgur
3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 teaspoons (or more to taste) harissa (see headnote)
Sea salt (at least 1 teaspoon) and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon juice
More harissa and Greek yogurt for serving
Add everything but the lemon juice to a deep heavy, lidded pot or dutch oven. (Le Creuset-like enameled pots are great). Mix it all together with a spoon or your hands. Add 1/2 cup water and mix thoroughly again.
Take several paper towels and lay them over the bulgur mixture, tucking them gently into the sides. If you have a very tight-fitting lid you can skip the paper towels and it should work just fine. Cover the pot and cook over very low heat for about an hour or so. Resist the urge to remove the lid since the steam generated is a critical to the cooking. I typically start with high heat to get things going, then, when I sense the presence of steam and can start to smell the dish, reduce it significantly.
When it is finished, after about an hour, remove the paper towels, taste and, if necessary, continue to cook with the paper towels intact again.
Squeeze a lemon over the finished bulgur and top with more harissa and Greek yogurt or a piece of simply baked, poached or pan-fried fish.
Kohlrabi Salad
–adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
Simple and delicious.
Serves 4
2 medium kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 2/3-inch dice (about 4 cups diced)
1 tablespoon mint leaves, torn
½ cup of parsley or cilantro leaves or a combination
Dressing:
Generous 1/2 cup Greek yoghurt or whole milk regular yogurt
1 small garlic clove, finely grated or mashed
1 tablespoon lemon juice, more to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste, I think this salad needs a lot of salt)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon sumac, for serving (optional)
Place the diced kohlrabi in a salad bowl.
In a small bowl whisk the dressing ingredients together well, except the herbs. Add the dressing to the kohlrabi and stir to combine well. Toss gently with herbs and sprinkle with sumac, if using, and serve.
Scallion Pancakes
Scallions shine here in quick-to-make savory pancakes.
Yields about 20 4-inch pancakes
1 large bunch scallions or spring onions, washed and trimmed of roots
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups water
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Oil for pan-frying
Dipping Sauce:
1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic or 1 stalk green garlic, minced
Cut the scallions or onion stalks into 1-2-inch lengths and cut the white part or the spring onions bulbs into thin rounds. In a large bowl whisk the eggs with the flour, water and salt. Add the scallions/onions and mix well. Taste for salt. It may need more. The batter should be fairly runny, a bit thinner than regular pancake batter.
Stir together all the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Lightly cover the bottom of a large, heavy skillet with oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot fry the pancakes, either in typical pancake size or large, to fit the pan. If doing the latter you’ll cut them into wedges to serve. I tend to make small ones. Fry for about 3 minutes per side or until golden. Serve with the dipping sauce.