Friday, July 24, 2009

Kohlrabi & Avocado Salad

The original recipe is here.



Ingredients:
- 3 medium Kohlrabi bulbs
- 2 ripe Avocados
- 3 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 1 Scallion, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 6 Tablespoons extra-virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- Salt
- Fresh ground Pepper
- 1/4 cup crumbled Feta Cheese

Chop it up, mix it up, and serve. Yum.

My sister discovered this recipe after we got Kohlrabi from our farm share and had no idea what to do with it, having never heard of it before. So I'd eaten hers twice before I made it for myself last night.

I had only 2 kohlrabi bulbs, and 3 avocados, so that's what I used. I also didn't have scallions, but chose to use fresh garlic instead of powder, so I think the zing of fresh garlic mostly made up for the lack of scallions.

I also used an entire lime, since I just love all things lime lately, and the rest of the ingredients I didn't measure - just drizzled in what felt right. We didn't have any feta cheese, but I certainly didn't miss it, and even though I love feta in general, I didn't love it with this salad the first time Hannah made it, so no loss.

The main thing you definitely want to change about the recipe above is the amount of EVOO. Use less, no more than half as much. It is way too oily otherwise. The avocado adds fat already, so you don't need the extra oil for flavor.

And finally, my avocados were very soft, and I stirred things a little more than I should have, so the avocado cubes mostly got mushed up. Next time I'd hope for slightly firmer avocados (it can be really hit-or-miss with the grocery store's selection) and I wouldn't mix it up after each ingredient - I'd toss the avocado and kohlrabi with the lime juice (to keep them from turning brown, especially the avocado) and then wait to toss everything again until all the rest of the ingredients had been added.

Assuming most of you have never heard of Kohlrabi either, it is crunchy and white inside, a lot like jicama, altho it's supposed to taste more like broccoli (but I don't really taste the resemblance, which is good, because I don't much like broccoli). It looks like this, although the ones we've been getting are actually purple on the outside, and more bulbous - this picture makes them look more like brussles sprouts or something, which they don't at all. And if they're not trimmed, those little stalks are just the bottom of big leaves. Aah, here's a better picture:


Anywho, the questions:

Was the recipe easy to follow? You betcha!
Did it taste good? It sure did! It's a new family summer favorite, in fact.
Would you make it again? I'll probably keep making it as long as the CSA keeps giving us kohlrabi!

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