Tasty Tuesday: Kohlrabi

Hello and welcome to our first installation of Tasty Tuesday, where I and others will present our best recipes for the week and introduce you to unfamiliar foods that are delicious! It is only when you step out of your comfort zone that you can expand and grow. I understand that Paleo is a huge learning curve and I admire each of you who have the courage to commit to a better life through nutrition. I know it is hard but I also know that you can be successful! Honor your journey and experiment with new foods as your taste buds change. Try preparing something you weren't crazy about in a different way (i.e., instead of boiling, chop and bake it) to see if it's not the technique used instead of the food itself that you do not care for. Kohlrabi was a frequent visitor in our CSA box from Avalon Acres the past month or so. Kohlrabi is originally German and is from the cabbage family. As you can see from the photo, it looks like a cross between a turnip and broccoli. It tastes like a mild radish (not biting, promise) and broccoli mixed. When cooked, kohlrabi sweetens.

There are green and purple kohlrabi varieties. According to nutritiondata.com, kohlrabi is a great source of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. The bulb is usually eaten because, although the stems and leaves are edible, they are thick and tough to chew so most throw them out. Kohlrabi can be eaten cooked or raw and is great for Paleo because it makes excellent "chips" for dip. These chips can be prepared in multiple ways.

In the above photo, I simply chopped off the stems and the outer covering, sliced them into chips and voila! Ready to eat! Kohlrabi's mild flavor makes them the perfect Paleo snack chip.

Kohlrabi is also delicious baked. Simply bake the raw chips on a cookie sheet drizzled in olive oil with a touch of sea salt on 35oº F for 12-18 minutes (or until they start to brown) and enjoy! Another way I have prepared kohlrabi is to sauté them in tallow or bacon grease until slightly brown and crispy!

The sauteed kohlrabi chips pictured above are an excellent way to eat veggies and get enough fat in your diet. Kohlrabi is low in sugar yet soaks up the fat while slightly sweetening as it cooks giving it a unique pleasant flavor. As you can see, kohlrabi is a versatile vegetable that is useful to the Paleo community for its chip and dip characteristics! Go grab one of these unique veggies and let me know what wonderful recipes you create! Or what dips you can enjoy again. I'm thinking guacamole! Have you ever heard of kohlrabi? Do you miss chips and stuff to dip with? Comment below!