Kohlrabi to me is a vegetable from my childhood. It was regularly served. I remember, when I lived in Istanbul, my friend tried very hard to find kohlrabi. She wanted to serve it to her little son. After several weeks of asking one merchant sold it to her on the weekly street market. In Boston again I never saw this vegetable. But in New York City it is from late fall to spring almost always available at one of our favorite supermarkets. Meaning: Rich never knew and had never tasted kohlrabi until I moved to the City. I am still hoping that he’ll get used to the taste one day because he doesn’t yet like the bulb very much.
Since we have been in quarantine for a while now, I want to use up all foods as well as possible. After we had eaten the kohlrabi bulbs, I researched if we could also eat the leaves. Turns out we can. So the other night I ended up making a tasty risotto with all the things we still had available. No wine though because we save that for drinking. Seriously, our fridge is still well-filled and we might eat more varied than ever.
Some notes:
- You can easily substitute the kohlrabi leaves with spinach, Swiss chard or arugula.
- Instead of the dried mushrooms, you can also use 600 g fresh mushrooms.
- You can use any other kind of cheese that you like.
Seasonal Eats Better: Kohlrabi Leaf Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 1/2 onion diced
- 2 garlic gloves diced
- 400 g rice
- 60 g dried mushrooms
- ca. 1.5 liter vegetable broth
- pepper thyme, basil
- kohlrabi leaves of 5 bulbs cut into smaller stripes
- 200 g shredded gruyère cheese
Instructions
- Heat up some olive oil in a big pan.
- Add the onion and garlic. Sautée.
- Add the rice and about a third of the vegetable broth. Stir.
- Also add the dried mushrooms.
- Bring to a simmer. Every time the broth is almost totally absorbed, add more until the rice is smooth and creamy.
- Season the risotto with pepper, thyme, and basil to taste.
- Stir in the kohlrabi leaves.
- Switch off the stove.
- Mix in the shredded cheese.
This recipe is part of Ina‘s project “Saisonal is(s)t besser” (Seasonal eats better).
© janavar