Kolrabi how to cook? Cooking kohlrabi: recipes, photos

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Cabbage is widely used in Russian cuisine: cabbage soup, solyanka and many other dishes cannot do without it. But we are talking about the usual white head, although color is gradually becoming popular. But what about a species like kohlrabi? How to cook a vegetable so that it is eaten with pleasure?

About cultivation and varieties

For most Russians, kohlrabi is not the most frequent guest in the diet. This vegetable is so unpopular that it is not even often seen in the store. Outwardly, it resembles a hybrid of ordinary white cabbage and turnips. The fact is that the part that is used directly as food is the overgrown stem. It tastes like a regular cabbage stalk, only juicier, softer and sweeter.

Sizes of different varieties, as well as colors, vary greatly. And in the garden, such cabbage looks somewhat unusual. Seeing it in the store, you might think that this is a root crop, but in fact it is the lower part of the stem, that is, it lies on the ground, which looks rather strange. The color can vary from light green and almost white to crimson and purple. So, you are interested in kohlrabi: how to cook this vegetable? And what to look for when buying?

Choose the right

In Russia, this vegetable is not as popular as in Europe, so many housewives simply do not know what to look for in the store when buying kohlrabi, how to cook it in such a way as to get the maximum benefit and taste from it.

First of all, you need to choose fruits with fresh leaves, if they are not cut. So you can understand how long the vegetable is in the store. Secondly, there should be no external damage and cuts on kohlrabi, otherwise it may be completely spoiled. The most important thing is to choose not too large specimens weighing up to 150 grams, this will help to avoid buying overripe stems with coarse fibrous pulp, which will simply be impossible to make tasty and tender.

Popular cooking methods

So, having chosen a stem crop in the store, you need to think about what you can do with it. There are plenty of options: kohlrabi stewed, boiled, fried, baked, raw, as part of various complex dishes - the scope for imagination is almost limitless. You can invent your own recipes, focusing on the compatibility of ingredients with ordinary cabbage. The only subtlety: before cooking, kohlrabi must be very thoroughly washed and peeled. It is quite easy to cut and rub, so technical difficulties should not arise. So, what can be obtained from kohlrabi?

In salads

One of the most common uses is cold snacks. This vegetable is rawthe form goes well with carrots and apples, and sour cream and lemon juice can be used as a sauce. You get a wonderful fresh salad if you grate it all or cut it into small strips. An apple, by the way, can be easily replaced with a cucumber.

For meat lovers there is an option with ham, in this salad, in addition to the protein ingredient, all the same kohlrabi and carrots are used. Dressing - mayonnaise or sour cream, spices to taste.

If we continue the theme of fresh and he althy salads, then another recipe includes bell pepper, onion, pickled cucumber and, of course, the cabbage itself. You can decorate the dish with herbs, and season with olive oil.

So, it is obvious that kohlrabi fits very organically into salads. It gives them a sweet taste and a nice crunchy texture. How about hot?

First courses

Kolrabi soup can also be firmly included in the diet, both children and adults will like it. It can have the consistency of mashed potatoes or be presented in a more familiar form - like a broth with vegetables. One of the most popular recipes is with chicken.

For him, you need to take 1 kilogram of meat and cook the broth. After the water boils, you need to remove the foam with a slotted spoon and add the carrots and onions. Cook on medium heat for another half an hour, then add bay leaf and black peppercorns. When the broth is ready, it must be filtered and left for further preparation. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the chopped onion in it. When will he becomegolden, add a little broth, as well as chopped vegetables: a head of kohlrabi and 2 potatoes. After another 5 minutes, you need to pour all the remaining broth into the mixture and bring to a boil over high heat. Then add spices to taste. And cook for another 10 minutes over medium heat. Then add chicken pieces and a head of cauliflower, disassembled into inflorescences. Cook everything until done, about 10 more minutes. Then pour in the cream, mix and remove from heat.

Of course, making kohlrabi this way may seem complicated the first time, but it's really just another element in the most common recipe.

Second dishes

Of course, kohlrabi (many housewives want to know how to cook it deliciously) is used not only in soups and salads. It is probably impossible to call her the queen of second courses, but as a side dish she will go with a variety of ingredients. It can be quite independent - as part of a vegetable stew, for example, or stewed in sour cream. But there is one almost universal dish that many people like - baked ham with kohlrabi in a creamy sauce. It is worth dwelling on it in more detail.

For cooking, you need 250 grams of ham, 4 kohlrabi stalks, 3 eggs, a tablespoon of heavy cream, wheat flour, butter, parsley, black pepper, nutmeg and s alt.

Cabbage should be peeled and cut into small cubes, then fry for 8-10 minutes in butter over medium heat. Beat egg whites, mix with cream, flour and spices. Sliceham cubes and preheat the oven to 180 degrees. In a glass dish, first put a part of the cabbage in layers, then the meat sprinkled with parsley, and again the kohlrabi. Pour sauce over everything and bake for about half an hour until golden brown. Serve immediately.

The recipe, of course, can be slightly modified by adding, for example, cheese and some other spices, but it is successful in this form. This vegetable is good because its sweetness goes well with a large number of products, but at the same time gives some exotic taste to the dishes. Thanks to this, you can endlessly come up with ways to cook kohlrabi.

In the slow cooker

Modern housewives strive to simplify their lives in every possible way, and cooking is no exception. Multicookers have become a great help for those who do not like to stand at the stove for hours. Slowly but surely, this miracle device "masters" all new recipes and ingredients, and kohlrabi is no exception.

Depending on which model is available, you can cook a lot of things: excellent stew with zucchini and broccoli, soups, pies, etc. By the way, the above-mentioned kohlrabi in creamy sauce can also be made in a slow cooker.

Of course, many housewives say that dishes prepared in an unconventional way are not so tasty, but in this way you can save a huge amount of time and effort, as well as preserve a maximum of vitamins, which is especially true when it comes to kohlrabi. How to cook and with what to combine this vegetable, probably, each housewife will decide for herself, starting fromtastes of his family.

For stock

As with any other vegetable, this type of cabbage has its own season. Therefore, it is necessary to store kohlrabi for the winter, if necessary, soon after harvesting. And if we are talking about a purchased product, then at the end of summer or at the beginning of autumn.

Blanks are very popular in Russia, and if this type of cabbage has firmly entered the family diet, then it makes sense to make seams with it. To do this, you need to clean the stem, cut it into cubes and boil in s alted water until soft - about 15 minutes. After that, you need to rinse it with cool water, distribute it in jars, shift with spices such as black and allspice peas, mustard seeds, bay leaves, onions. Other seasonings can be added if desired. Then you need to fill it all with marinade: for 1 liter of water - 1.5 teaspoons of 70% vinegar, 25 grams of s alt and 125 grams of sugar. Naturally, the mixture must be hot, and the jars carefully sterilized.

Preparing kohlrabi for the winter is easy and does not take much time, and in the cold season these stocks will be an excellent source of vitamins and a reminder of a sunny warm summer.

Nutritional value and benefits

Like many other vegetables, kohlrabi is a dietary product. Coarse fiber helps improve digestion, and a huge amount of vitamin C gives it the right to compete with lemons. In addition, kohlrabi has healing and anti-inflammatory properties, increases the metabolic rate and protects the nervous system.

About usefulThe properties of this type of cabbage were known in ancient Greece, where it was used as a medicine, and not just as a food product. Among other things, it contains in its composition such trace elements as potassium, selenium, magnesium, calcium, iron, etc. Also, kohlrabi contains substances that prevent the transformation of carbohydrates into fats, that is, allowing you to maintain a beautiful figure. In addition, there is an opinion that eating this vegetable is an excellent prevention of cancer.

However, uncontrolled eating of kohlrabi will not be useful for those who suffer from high stomach acidity. Of course, in case of individual intolerance, eating it is also impossible.

What to replace?

The taste of radish is very similar to kohlrabi. Recipes with photos that use this more familiar vegetable may well be suitable for an exotic type of cabbage. The turnip is also somewhat similar to the stem crop. However, as already mentioned, the closest relative of kohlrabi, white cabbage, can to some extent taste very much like it. But still, in terms of its properties, composition, texture and some other characteristics, this vegetable has no full-fledged analogues. Therefore, at least occasionally, kohlrabi should appear on the table in every family, even as an experiment. Who knows, maybe after that it will become a part of your favorite dishes.