What the hell do you do with a kohlrabi you ask….What does it taste like…..? Its a lovely refreshing root vegetable with a similar taste to celery and mild celeriac. Shaved raw it went really nicely with some apple, celeriac and crumbled toasted walnuts, tossed with a tangy creamy yoghurt dressing for a winter coleslaw. I served my cool coleslaw stuffed generously into the floury arms of a warm pitta bread, some comforting Moroccan spiced falafel, a squeeze of lime and a scatter of coriander…..
Coleslaw
- 1 kohlrabi, peeled
- ½ celeriac, peeled
- 1 Cox apple
- Handful of toasted, crushed walnuts
- 120g plain natural yoghurt
- 1 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- Flat leaf parsley, chopped
- I used the blade attachment on my Magimix to get the shaved sticks from the kohlrabi and celeriac (However, you could grate them or slice on a mandolin but the processor makes it a lot easier) I recommend slicing the apple into matchstick by hand as they are quite juicy when put into the processor.
- Combine the shredded kohlrabi and celeriac in a large bowl in roughly similar amounts. Add the apple.
- Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan, then crush and add to the vegetables.
- Toast the fennel seeds similarly and crush in a pestle and mortar.
- To make the dressing, mix the yoghurt, mayo, fennel seeds, chopped parsely and season to taste. Add enough lemon juice to taste to give it a nice punchy flavour.
- Toss the dressing with the vegetables. Add as much as you like for the desired texture.
Falafel (makes about 14)
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 red chilli
- 1 bunch coriander and in addition, either mint, parsley, basil or whatever is in season or takes your fancy
- 1 garlic clove
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp yoghurt
- Salt and pepper
- Splash of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ heaped tsp of the following mix of ground Spice Mix (toast 1tsp of each fennel, cumin, coriander and fenugreek seed with 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cardamon pods and 1 star anise in a dry frying pan until hot, fragrant and beginning to pop, remove and grind in a pestle and mortar until fine).
- Approx 50g fine white breadcrumb
- Place all the ingredients except the oil into a food processor and pulse until well combined, scrapping the mixture down from the sides every now and then.
- Add a splash of oil to loosen but do not allow the mixture to become too loose (This is my hummus recipe too, so if you want hummus and not falafel, simply add more oil to get a spoonable texture)
- Now place the mixture into a bowl and mix in enough breadcrumbs until the mixture is stiffer. It should be stiff enough to roll into about 14 golf ball sized falafel. If it is too wet, add some more breadcrumbs.
- Now roll into about 14 falafel balls and fry in hot oil until crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle.
