A kohlrabi treat

It’s CSA season in Columbus. When I got our half of the first produce bag last weekend, I felt slightly daunted by the prospect of preparing the contents for kid consumption. Will and Owen both seem to have grown a bit pickier over the past few months, and I was wondering whether I’d be able to sell them on kohlrabi, turnips, spinach, cilantro and kale. I knew they’d go for a spinach manicotti, but the rest of the veggies seemed less promising. But I take it as a personal challenge to consume or freeze all our produce before it goes bad, so Will and I set to work together, blanching and sauteeing kale and turnip greens according to Rob’s invented recipe (applied here to collards) and following this recipe for roasted kohlrabi that our farmers shared with us in their weekly e-newsletter:

Roasted Kohlrabi with garlic and parmesan

Ingredients
4 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Cut the kohlrabi into 1/4 inch thick slices, then cut each of the slices in half. Combine olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss kohlrabi slices in the olive oil mixture to coat. Spread kohlrabi in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until browned, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally in order to brown evenly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven to allow the Parmesan cheese to brown, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Will declared the kohlrabi “very, very good” and even went so far as to call it one of his two favorite foods. (Tortellini was the other favorite -- at least in that fleeting moment).

And that is why I love belonging to a CSA. It makes us so much more adventurous when it comes to eating fresh healthy food.