Kohlrabi – Journey From A Polish Kitchen

Pork Gulasz with Kohlrabi

A Polish gulasz (casserole) is often very simple and besides onions may just contain one other vegetable; however though simple they are very tasty!

This one is made with shoulder pork and kohlrabi and at the end I have given suggestions for several other similar vegetables which can be used instead.

Ingredients

500g Pork shoulder

1 large or 2 small kohlrabi

2 medium onions

250ml chicken stock – can be from cube or concentrate

2 tablespoons of plain flour

1 tablespoon of caraway seeds

Salt & Black Pepper.

Oil for frying

Chopped dill or flat leafed parsley to serve

Caraway Seeds

Flat Leaved Parsely

Dill

Method

You will need a lidded casserole dish.

Pre heat the oven to Gas Mark 3 – 160°C

Roughly chop the onions.

Peel and chop the kohlrabi.

Cut the pork into cubes and coat the pieces in a mixture of flour, salt & ground black pepper.

In a frying pan heat the oil until it is hot and fry the pork until all the sides are sealed.

Add the chopped onions and fry them all together for a few minutes.

Place the pork and onions into the casserole dish.

Add the chopped kohlrabi and the stock and place the dish into the oven.

After 2 hours add the caraway seeds to the dish and stir.

Add more stock if you think it is evaporating too much.

You will need to cook this in the oven until the meat is tender which will be between 3 to 4 hours.

The serving dish is by Alfred Meakin with a lid with lovely blue cornflowers & wheat on it. The pattern is called Jayne and is from the 1950s.

The gulasz is here served with mashed potatoes on Carnation by Royal Doulton. 1982 – 1998

It also goes well with hefty style pasta, boiled rice or cooked buckwheat.

Tip

You can make this a day ahead and then re-heat the next day for at least one hour with extra stock if needed.

Alternatives to kohlrabi

You can use the following in place of the kohlrabi:

diced white turnip,
chopped parsnips,
chopped celeriac ,
whole radishes,
florets of cauliflower.

Kohlrabi – Cooked

Kohlrabi in Polish is kalarepa – it belongs to the cabbage family – the Brassicas.

It is a swollen stem and spherical in shape.

I have already written about eating it raw in salads – now I am going to write about eating it cooked.

You can either steam whole kohlrabi and peel them once they are cooked and cooled a little or you can peel and chop them first and then boil them (with the addition of a little salt and sugar).

Steamed, Peeled and Chopped

Peeled, Chopped and Boiled

Buttered kohlrabi

Cook the kohlrabi by steaming or boiling then toss the chunks into melted butter and serve with chopped flat leaf parsley or dill.

Served here in a dish by J & G Meakin – Topic – designed by Alan Rogers – 1967

Kohlrabi à la Polonaise

Melt butter in a pan and stir in dried breadcrumbs to make the à la Polonaise topping and pour this over the cooked kohlrabi chunks.

Served in Saraband by Ridgeway – 1940-1959

Creamed kohlrabi

Cook the kohlrabi by boiling chunks in a vegetable stock with a little sugar added.

Drain the kohlrabi and mash them adding several large tablespoonfuls of soured cream.

Serve with chopped flat leafed parsley.

Served here in a dish by Royal Doulton – Carnation 1982 – 1998

Kohlrabi baked with cheese

Ingredients

Cooked slices kohlrabi

50g of grated cheese (cheddar, Gouda, Edam or similar)

Cheese sauce – ingredients

1-2 tablespoons of butter

1-2 tablespoons of plain flour

150 ml of vegetable stock (can be from concentrate/cubes – I use made up Marigold powder)

4 tablespoons of soured cream

Cheese sauce – method

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the plain flour.

Cook lightly to blend the two together.

Stir in the stock and mix to make a lump free sauce.

Stir in soured cream to make a smooth sauce.

Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C

Place the slices of kohlrabi into an oven proof dish layering up with most of the cheese sauce.

Put the grated cheese on top.

Pour the rest of the cheese sauce over the top.

Put in the oven and bake for around 30 minutes.

Kohlrabi Salads

Kohlrabi in Polish is kalarepa – it belongs to the cabbage family – the Brassicas – and has been cultivated from Brassica oleracea – the wild cabbage.

It is a swollen stem and spherical and its taste and texture is similar to cabbage heart and it can be eaten both raw & cooked.

Kohlrabi

My auntie in Wembley used to grow kohlrabi in the garden & on their allotment but until recently I never saw it for sale in England whereas in Poland it is a common vegetable, it matures quickly, withstands the frost and can be stored for some time.

This kohlrabi I bought from the outdoor market in Leeds.

For all the salads below the raw kohlrabi has been peeled and then grated on a medium grater.

Here I have just used 1 kohlrabi per salad.

Simple Kohlrabi Salad

Served here in a Royal Doulton – Carnation dish – 1982 – 1998.

Ingredients

1 kohlrabi

2 – 3 tablespoons of soured cream

Juice of half a lemon.

Method

Mix the soured cream with the lemon juice.

Mix the grated kohlrabi with the dressing.

Kohlrabi Salad with Apple

1 kohlrabi

1 Red or Pink eating apple

2 -3 tablespoons of full fat Greek yoghurt

1-2 tablespoons of apple juice

Method

Grated kohlrabi is mixed with a chopped eating apple – use an apple with a red or pink skin for the lovely colour – here I used a Pink Lady which has a super taste.