A different vegetable

After a recent visit to a grocery store, I noticed a vegetable that I hadn’t seen in a long time. It is something that I have eaten, as my dad worked in a grocery store and would occasionally bring home some unusual vegetables. However, while I know that Mother cooked almost anything he brought home, (one outstanding no-no was parsnips), this vegetable is kohlrabi, I don’t have any recollection as to how she prepared it, but chances are it was boiled until done and seasoned with salt and pepper and either bacon drippings or butter.
It is a winter vegetable, and the name kohlrabi is a German word that means “cabbage turnip” which describes its shape and the similarity in taste to cabbage. Kohlrabi is a cultivar of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower as well as collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts. (This article that I found compares the taste to broccoli, but the one I found this morning compares it to cabbage)! Kohlrabi is a good source of many nutrients, mainly Vitamin C, and is a good source of fiber. It is a vegetable you can eat raw, as in a slaw type salad or cooked, as in a stir-fry dish. One of my daughters told me she had been given kohlrabi at one time and made it into a slaw. The texture of a raw kohlrabi, is pretty much the same as the texture of a turnip.
Many of the recipes I found looked as if they’d be tasty, but mostly they had a video to watch, which didn’t help. I tried pulling up several of the recipes, but was not successful, the ingredients would be listed, but the directions weren’t available.


This one is in a file that was in my computer:
Kohlrabi Parmesan
2 Tbs. butter
¼ tsp. leaf marjoram
4 medium kohlrabi, peeled and sliced
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (green canister will be fine)
salt and pepper to taste
In a non-stick skillet, melt butter with marjoram; add sliced kohlrabi. Loosely cover and cook over medium-high heat until kohlrabi is tender, stirring occasionally. Add Parmesan cheese and mix lightly to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Creamy Kohlrabi Soup
2 Tbs. Butter
1 chopped, medium onion
1 lb. kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2½ cups vegetable broth
2½ whole milk
1 large bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup orzo pasta (uncooked)
Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium-low heat; add onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes, (do not brown), add diced kohlrabi; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add broth, milk and bay leaf, bring to a boil’ reduce heat to low, cover and cook until kohlrabi is tender, about 25 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf. Blend soup with an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper, add orzo, cover and cook about 10 minutes or until orzo is tender.