There are some soups and stews in the mix as the weather will cool a bit this week. The kohlrabi recipes have you cook this crunchy vegetable but by all means snack on it raw and add it to salads. You could make a nice chopped salad with Tropea onion, finely diced kohlrabi, corn and diced tomatoes. Add some hardboiled egg for a hearty, bright salad.
Tomato Paella
Roasted Onion, Corn and Tomato Salad
Weeknight Vegetable Curry with Coconut Milk
Kohlrabi Lattkes
Beef Stew with Kohlrabi and Carrots
Green Salad with Beets, Avocado and Tropea Onion
Tomato Paella
–Adapted from Mark Bittman
This is a delicious, quick, and inexpensive (and vegetarian) twist on a classic paella. It’s perfect this time of year with beautiful, juicy tomatoes. It’s very important to season the ingredients properly as you go. It’s really a shame to under salt this dish. Taste your stock or bouillon to make sure it’s well seasoned.
Serves 4-5
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 pounds ripe, slicer/heirloom tomatoes, cored and cut into thick wedges (about 4 medium to large tomatoes)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Large pinch saffron threads
2 teaspoons Spanish pimentón (smoked paprika), or other paprika
2 cups Spanish or Arborio or other short-grain rice (I use Arborio)
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (if the stock isn’t very salty or you’re using water)
Warm stock or water in a saucepan. If using water, add a teaspoon of salt to the water. Put tomatoes in a medium bowl, sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, and drizzle them with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat. Put remaining oil in a 10- or 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in saffron if you are using it and pimentón and cook for a minute more. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is shiny, another two to three minutes. Add hot stock or water and stir until just combined.
Put tomato wedges on top of rice and drizzle with juices that accumulated in bottom of bowl. Cook covered, over medium heat undisturbed, for 15 -20 minutes. Check to see if rice is dry and just tender. If not, keep cooking for another 5 minutes and remove lid if there is excess liquid. If rice looks too dry but still is not quite done, add a small amount of stock or water (or wine). When rice is ready, turn off oven and let pan sit for 5 to 15 minutes. If you like, put pan over high heat for a few minutes to develop a bit of a bottom crust before serving. If you have time you should definitely do this last part. The crust is fabulous.
Roasted Onion, Corn and Tomato Salad
Combining roasted and fresh vegetables is fun. And if you don’t want to turn the oven on you can cook the vegetables on the stove top in a cast iron pan over fairly high heat and achieve similar results.
Serves 4
2 Torpedo or 1 regular red or yellow onion, cut into half-inch rings
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt
1 summer squash, cut into large dice (optional)
3 ears corn, blanched, kernels cut off cob
Another small piece of onion, diced or 2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups diced tomatoes
Coarsely ground black pepper
2-3 teaspoons sherry vinegar
2-3 tablespoons basil leaves, chopped or torn
Set your oven to broil.
Toss the onions with 1 tablespoon or so of the olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt and spread on a sheet pan (or use cast iron pan on stove top–see headnote) and set about 6-8 inches below your broiler. After about 8 minutes minutes add the summer squash to the pan and stir well and continue broiling for about 10 more minutes or until the vegetables are browning and tender, stirring occasionally to ensure even browning. The time this takes will vary based on your broiler and watch it carefully so you don’t burn the vegetables. Let the vegetables cool just a bit and then roughly chop the onions. Set aside.
Put the corn and the raw onion and tomatoes in a salad bowl. Add the chopped roasted onions, squash, more olive oil, the vinegar and a few pinches of salt and pepper and the basil. Stir well and taste and adjust seasoning.
This salad keeps well so feel free to make more and enjoy the next day.
Kohlrabi Lattkes
Most root vegetables make good latke-like savory pancakes, and actually vegetables of all kinds make great savory pancakes. I’ve added a few potatoes for texture and flavor balance–you could certainly just use kohlrabi or add any other tuber or root and I’m sure they would be fine.
I happened to have fresh horseradish and grated a bit into some whole milk Greek yogurt and topped the latkes with this spicy cream but top it with spicy mayo, ketchup (my son does this) sour cream, etc.
Serves 4 (makes about 14-16 latkes)
2 small-medium potatoes, scrubbed (I never bother to peel), grated on large holes of a box grater or with the grating blade of a food processor
About 4-5 cups grated kohlrabi (on large holes of a box grater or the grating blade on a food processor)
1/2 small onion, minced
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt (may need more)
1/3 cup flour
Oil for frying (olive, sunflower, canola, etc.)
Topping (optional):
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated horseradish (or prepared)
A few pinches of salt
In a large bowl whisk the eggs with the salt and flour until smooth. Add the onion and grated vegetables and stir well to combine. You can let the mixture sit for up to two hours on the counter before frying (or refrigerate for longer).
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat. Add spoonfuls of the mixture to the hot pan and turn the heat down to medium-high. Fry until the edges are browning. Flip and brown the other side–a few minutes on each side. Keep a plate warm in a 250-degree oven and keep the fried ones in the oven until you’ve fried them all.
In a small bowl mix the yogurt with horseradish and salt, if using (see headnote).
Top latkes with cream and serve.
Weeknight Vegetable Curry with Coconut Milk
This is at the top of my list for fairly quick, delicious and satisfying meals that use up most any vegetable you have on hand. This recipe makes plenty so you can freeze half for dinner the following week or eat for lunches or just leftovers. Once you make it a few times you won’t need to look at a recipe and will have fun with whatever version you conjure. If you’re using summer squash or other quick cooking vegetables add them to the curry a bit later since they will take less time to cook and you want them to keep their shape just a bit. You can make it more or less soupy so adjust amount of broth according to your taste.
If you have time briefly toast whole coriander and cumin seeds in a dry skillet, let cool and grind in a mortar and pestle. It only takes a couple of minutes and the results are worth it.
Serves 4-5
Oil
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cumin (or half a teaspoon whole seeds–see headnote)
1 teaspoon ground coriander (or half a teaspoon whole seeds–see headnote)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 fresh Serrano pepper, minced (optional)
1/2 – 1 cup chopped tomatoes
3 carrots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped or sliced
4-5 cups cabbage, chopped
1 1/2 cups red lentils
6-7 cups water or vegetable broth
Salt, to taste
1 can full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped mint (optional)
Lime or lemon juice (optional)
White or brown rice or naan for serving (optional)
In a large soup pot heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and onions and cook for about 5 minutes, turning the heat down to medium if the onion begins to color. Add the cumin and coriander and hot pepper and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often and be careful not to burn. Add a few tablespoons of the thickest part of the coconut milk and stir in well. Simmer for another minute or two and then add the tomatoes and carrots and garlic. Cook for a 5 minutes. Now add the lentils, broth, remainder of coconut milk and cabbage a teaspoon or so of salt, depending on how salty your broth is. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Add the herbs and cook for another minute. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve hot over rice with a good squeeze of lime juice.
Beef Stew with Kohlrabi and Carrots
This is a hearty stew but it is supposed to cool off this week so maybe it will seem appropriate. And it’s even better the next day, as these kinds of dishes tend to be.
Serves 6 generously
3/4 cup all-purpose flour with several big pinches of salt and pepper
1 1/4 pound stew beef, cut into 1-inch chunks
About 1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups thickly sliced carrots
2 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into ½ – ¾ -inch dice (about 3-4 cups worth)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste, thick tomato sauce or 4 roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup beer (medium to light style) (optional)
4-5 cups beef broth (more if you’d like it more soupy) or other broth or vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
3 thyme sprigs or 2 teaspoons dry thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried, finely chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
Salt and pepper to taste
Rice or couscous and lots of chopped parsley to serve
In a large brown paper bag, place flour, salt, and pepper. Add diced beef. Close the bag. Hold it tight and shake. Open bag and make sure that all of the beef is lightly coated in flour and seasoning. Set aside.
In a large Dutch oven (or big soup pot), heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add as much beef as will fit along the bottom of the pan in a single layer. Cook, browning on all sides. The beef doesn’t need to be cooked through, just browned. Once all of the beef is cooked, remove from the pan and place on a plate. Set aside.
In the same Dutch oven, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onions and carrots and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and heat through. Deglaze the pan with the beer, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as the beer steams.
Add bay leaf, thyme, and soy sauce. Add beef and generously cover with broth or stock. Turn heat to low and let gently simmer for 35 minutes (or longer if your beef is from a tougher cut). Add the kohlrabi and cook for another 20 minutes or so until the vegetables are cooked through. Taste add salt, and pepper as necessary.
Serve over couscous or rice with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.
Green Salad with Beets, Avocado and Tropea Onion
If you have beets leftover from last week, use some in this salad.
I have a habit of toasting a slice of good, crusty bread and tearing it into bits and adding it warm to salads–often just for me, for lunch, but it’s such an easy trick to add a little heft to salads. It also changes the texture and temperature just enough to make it interesting.
4 beets, roasted and peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 avocado, diced
2 slices of good, crusty bread, toasted and cut or torn into bite-sized pieces (optional- but makes it nice hearty)
4 cups or more lettuce, washed, dried and torn
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro, leaves and stems and finely minced roots, if they’re attached
2 tablespoons finely diced Tropea onion
2 ounces feta or fresh goat cheese
Juice of half a lemon or about 1 ½ tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar or more to taste
3 tablespoons good olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Toss everything but the cheese and beets together. Taste and adjust seasoning. Gently add the cheese and beets and just barely mix so the beets don’t bleed onto everything.