Slawlad: a salad-slaw. No, it’s not a real word, but it’s the best way I could think of to describe this…
And kohlrabi… what in the world is that?! Don’t worry, you’re not crazy for wondering if you are…
When I first got it in my CSA about 6 months ago, I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it. Turns out I wasn’t alone; some Internet researching led me to all sorts of questioning and explaining about this strange vegetable. Typical to my nature, before researching however, I tried. Unsure of how to use it, I just sliced it, sauteed it with some seasonings, and ate it. I have to say, it was pretty good, except for the god-awful rough skin- talk about a jaw workout! Lesson learned; this mistake I never made again 🙂
Since then, I’ve tried it a few different ways. This has to be my favorite. Cooked, the vegetable reminds of, well… I’d say the stem of cooked broccoli? Raw however, it’s almost radish-like, but much more subtle. Maybe if an apple and a radish had a vegetable-child, it would be a kohlrabi… that may be more accurate 🙂 Anyway, combined with the sweetness of oranges and apples along with the anise-ish flavor of fennel and crisp flavorful bite of radishes, it’s a lovely marriage of all things refreshing. Then top it with this simple, yet tasty little dressing and you’ve got a salad/slaw that’s uniquely delish.
You can refrigerate this raw slaw for hours if needed- nothing will happen except for marination…
What is this stuff?? Kohlrabi looks like something extra-terrestrial… like broccoli from Mars. Like it’s gonna attack at any moment… but no, it’s just a harmless little vegetable with a serious identity crisis.
The key to this salad is to slice everything paper-thin… it keeps it light, delicate, and refreshing!
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
for salad…
5 small or 2-3 larger kohlrabi bulbs, about 1-1 1/2 cups when sliced
1 fennel bulb, about 1/2 cup sliced
2 radishes, about 1/2 cup sliced
1/2 Granny Smith apple, about 1/2 cup sliced
1/2 orange (seedless Valencia or other sweet variety), about 1/2 cup sliced
fennel fronds/leaves, for garnish
for dressing…
2 tbsp orange juice
1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
DIRECTIONS
You’ve got to clean and prep that kohlrabi…
Cut off the greens and stems
You;ll be left with these little extra-terrestial looking bulbs…
Chop off any extra ends and prep it for peeling
You may know of a better way to do this- if so, please do that!
I used a peeler- yes, it was a wee bit tedious, but you definitely want to get all that tough exterior off
of there, so you just gotta… good news is once you’re done, it’s all down hill from here!
Give it a good once-once to check for any rough edges- see those little brown lines down there?
Those are kind of tough, so peel it all away until you have nice, smooth, clean bulbs 🙂
Okay, now you’re ready for the chopping!
Everything in this salad is very thinly sliced- like paper-thin
To julienne kohlrabi, thinly slice bulb in one direction…
Then thinly slice across to make think little strips
Repeat with all bulbs…
And now you have julienned kohlrabi!
Prep and clean fennel bulb by chopping off stems/fronds and the bottom roughness
Using the same method as with the kohlrabi, julienne the fennel bulb
Like so…
Now on to the radishes…
Same thing- clean and prep by chopping off ends
Thinly slice- except this time you don’t need to julienne- just slice into paper thin little rounds
I chose two different-sized radish bulbs for a variety in circle-shapes, but doesn’t matter at all…
Toss veggies together in a large mixing bowl
Very thinly slice half an apple
Peel and chop a half of orange
Toss fruit in with veggies…
Now make dressing…
Add all ingredients in a measuring cup/bowl/cup
Whisk until well-mixed, taste, and adjust seasonings as wanted
Pour dressing over veggies/fruit
Toss to mix
You can either serve it right away for cover an place in the refrigerator for up to a few hours until ready to eat (it will chill and marinade in there- not a bad thing)
When serving, garnish with some fennel leaves/fronds
Enjoy!!
