The perfect way to use tender spring kohlrabi, this traditional Hungarian dish features bulbs of kohlrabi stuffed with a flavorful pork and rice filling, and served alongside a kohlrabi soup made with the leftover scraps and greens. Kohlrabi may look like an alien creature, but if you’ve never had it before, you’re in for a […]
The perfect way to use tender spring kohlrabi, this traditional Hungarian dish features bulbs of kohlrabi stuffed with a flavorful pork and rice filling, and served alongside a kohlrabi soup made with the leftover scraps and greens.
Kohlrabi may look like an alien creature, but if you’ve never had it before, you’re in for a treat! It has a taste and texture similar to broccoli stems, but sweeter and not quite as odorous.
This is our second year as Caney Fork Farms CSA members, which, unlike other CSAs we’ve been a part of over the years, offers a year round produce box. The fact that we can still get fresh produce in the dead of winter still astonishes this raised-in-Colorado girl.
Last winter, one of the most exciting items in our box was an alien-looking brassica called Kohlrabi. It was something I had never eaten, let alone cooked, and I really had no clue what to do with it. So, hoping for both inspiration and education, I asked my followers on Instagram for recipe ideas. And boy did you deliver!
Many suggested soup, also popular were slaws or salads (the crunchy bulb being not unlike the thick stalks of broccoli in terms of texture and flavor, so this makes sense.)
But one recipe stood out. Piszke, a generous follower from Hungary, sent over a recipe for a traditional Hungarian stuffed kohlrabi with a ground pork and rice filling, then served over a kohlrabi green and sour cream puree.
Stuffed kohlrabi is a very traditional Hungarian dish, but there’s no one single way to make it. Much like Italians and their marinara, every family will have their own different version of it, with different meats (some feature beef instead of pork, or a mix of the two) as well as many different stuffings, seasonings, and accompaniments.
But this one is particularly unique in that it uses the entire vegetable, greens and all. It makes its own side dish, essentially, by pureeing the greens and leftover pulp from the hollowed-out bulbs into a gorgeously green, flavorful soup. Brilliant, right? That’d be like a cake recipe that made its own frosting or something.
This kohlrabi slaw recipe is bright, crunchy and zingy! It’s one of the best ways to eat this unique vegetable.
Got a bulb of kohlrabi and not sure what to do with it? This unique vegetable looks a little like an alien, and if you’re like us: you were stumped on how to use it the first time. Here’s a perfect way to highlight the crunchy, raw texture of this veggie: Kohlrabi Slaw! It’s bright, crunchy and zingy paired with tart apple, sweet carrot and a Mediterranean-style vinegary dressing. It’s our favorite way to use it: bar none.
What is kohlrabi, anyway?
Kohlrabi, also known as the German turnip is a cruciferous vegetable. It’s in the same family as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and kale: so it’s no surprise that it has the flavor of broccoli stems! It comes in both green and purple varieties, and it’s easiest to find at farmer’s markets, though you can also come across it at standard grocery stores.
The kohlrabi may come with leaves attached, or they may be already cut off (as shown in this photo). You can save the greens for use in salads: or finely chop them for use in this slaw if you like!
Ingredients in kohlrabi slaw
The texture of kohlrabi is crunchy and hydrating: it’s similar in texture and flavor to jicama. So it’s at its best used raw, in our opinion! This kohlrabi slaw is a simple way to highlight its super powers: use it thinly sliced into matchsticks along with carrots and apple with a tasty vinaigrette-style dressing. Here’s what you’ll need:
Kohlrabi
Carrots
Apple
Green onions
Parsley
Olive oil
White wine vinegar
Maple syrup, honey or sugar
Dijon mustard
A few tips on cutting matchsticks
The main time-consuming portion of this recipe? Cutting the kohlrabi! It takes a while to cut the matchsticks, so be patient! Here are the main steps for how to cut kohlrabi:
Remove any attached greens. Sometimes kohlrabi is sold with the greens; other times it is simply the bulb.
Peel the bulb. You can cut off extras when you’re chopping matchsticks so it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Cut thin slices, then place the slices on their side and slice into thin sticks. Then cut off the ends to remove more of the peel.
How to serve kohlrabi slaw
And that’s it! All you need to know about making kohlrabi slaw. There are so many different ways to serve this tasty kohlrabi recipe:
This cozy vegetable soup recipe features freekah, a whole grain that adds a chewy texture and a wisp of smoky flavor. It’s like a healthy spin on canned noodle soup! Ready for a seriously cozy soup that’s full of bold flavor? This Israeli soup recipe from the new cookbook Sababa features freekah, ancient grain that’s starting to have a moment here in the US. This soup feels like an elevated take on the chicken and stars canned soup of my childhood, but 100% tastier and healthier. Says author Adeena, the freekah adds body and “just a wisp of smoky flavor, as though a blown-out match had passed through each spoonful for a second.” If that’s not a reason to try this out, we’re not sure what is! This recipe comes from Adeena Sussman, author of the new cookbook Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen. Keep reading for more about the book and this freekah soup recipe. About the book: Sababa Sababa means “everything is awesome” in Hebrew, and this theme carries through the entire Sababa cookbook! It’s full of vibrant photography and fresh recipes from Adeena’s kitchen in Tel Aviv. Israeli cuisine has become beloved around the world, […]
This cozy vegetable soup recipe features freekah, a whole grain that adds a chewy texture and a wisp of smoky flavor. It’s like a healthy spin on canned noodle soup!
Ready for a seriously cozy soup that’s full of bold flavor? This Israeli soup recipe from the new cookbook Sababa features freekah, ancient grain that’s starting to have a moment here in the US. This soup feels like an elevated take on the chicken and stars canned soup of my childhood, but 100% tastier and healthier. Says author Adeena, the freekah adds body and “just a wisp of smoky flavor, as though a blown-out match had passed through each spoonful for a second.” If that’s not a reason to try this out, we’re not sure what is! This recipe comes from Adeena Sussman, author of the new cookbook Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen. Keep reading for more about the book and this freekah soup recipe.
About the book: Sababa
Sababa means “everything is awesome” in Hebrew, and this theme carries through the entire Sababa cookbook! It’s full of vibrant photography and fresh recipes from Adeena’s kitchen in Tel Aviv. Israeli cuisine has become beloved around the world, and this is one of those books where as we page through we wanted to make literally EVERY recipe. While the book is not vegetarian or vegan, it’s vegetable forward and has tons of beautiful offerings whatever your diet.
Before sharing her freekah recipe, here’s a quick Q&A we did with Adeena about her book and Israeli cuisine! Here’s what she had to say:
Sonja: You were born & raised in the US but moved to Tel Aviv in 2015. What is it about Israeli food culture that helped draw you there?
Adeena: I love the passion for fresh food – from a humble sandwich shop at fine dining restaurant to home cooking, if the produce isn’t snappy and the bread pretty much fresh out of the oven, it doesn’t get served. I also love how Israeli food is as much about a laid-back vibe of socializing and hosting as it is about the food itself. I also love the dozens of ethnic traditions, brought to Israel by immigrants from all over the world and also from home-grown Arab, Druse, and Beduin populations, that influence cuisine here. It’s a delicious melting pot.
Sonja: What are 2 dishes in Sababa you would say are must-try, hat say something about Israeli food and your own personal style?
Adeena: I would say the Tanini Glazed Roasted Carrots. They take a simple, expected dish and transport you to the Middle East by incorporating cumin, date syrup, tahini, and lemon into an addictive dressing. I also love the Cardamom-Cinnamon Cold Brew Coffee. By throwing a cinnamon stick and some whole cardamom pods into your pitcher before cold-brewing, it creates something familiar, yet unexpected.
Sonja: Tell us: why should more of us be cooking with freekeh? What are other dishes where you love to use it?
Adeena: Freekeh – smoked cracked wheat pronounced “freaky” in Israel – is chewy like farro, but with more taste intrigue! It’s a whole grain, filling and super versatile. In the book, I use it in a delicious salad with roasted grapes and lemony dressing. I often cook up a quantity of it and use it wherever I might use brown rice, barley, wheat berries, or any substantial grain.
What is freekah?
Freekeh is cracked wheat, an ancient grain that hails from the Middle East. Similar to bulgur wheat, it comes from the durum wheat plant, harvested when the wheat is green. In Arab communities, young green wheat is picked and dried in the field over wood to create freekeh, a grain that can be used a million ways. The grain has a chewy texture and a smoky undertone.
Is freekah gluten-free? No. Since it’s made from wheat, it is not a gluten-free whole grain like quinoa and millet.
How to cook freekah? If you’d like to cook freekah on its own as a side dish or as part of a grain salad, here’s our master freekah recipe: How to Cook Freekah.
Tips on this freekah vegetable soup recipe
This vegetable soup with freekah recipe is seriously cozy and comforting. While it takes about 1 hour to make, most of that is hands off. The hands on time is about 15 minutes. Here are a few things to keep in mind when making this freekah recipe:
Soak the freekah. This recipe calls for soaking the freekah while you saute the veggies; don’t skip this step! The freekah absorbs some of the water: this way it doesn’t absorb too much of the broth.
If you can’t find kohlrabi, use celery. We weren’t able to source the kohlrabi used in this recipe, so we substituted celery instead. It worked well to give a little crunch and subtle flavor. (A few kohlrabi recipes we love: Kohlrabi Carrot Fritters and Beet Dip with Kohlrabi Sticks.)
Add more freekah if you’d like. Adeena notes in the book that you can add more freekah to give the soup a thicker, porridge like consistency.
This cozy vegetable soup recipe features freekah, a whole grain that adds a chewy texture and a wisp of smoky flavor. It’s like a healthy spin on canned noodle soup!
Ingredients
1 cup cracked freekeh
1 large onion
1 medium kohlrabi (substitute celery if not available)
2 medium carrots
3 garlic cloves
2 medium zucchini
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth, plus more if needed
1 Parmesan rind or 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh za’atar or oregano
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Chopped fresh herbs (za’atar, parsley, chives, or scallions), for garnish
Instructions
Place the freekeh in a medium bowl, cover with cold water, and set aside.
Dice the onion. Peel the rind and tough outer membranes off of the kohlrabi and dice it. Peel and dice the carrot. Mince the garlic. Dice the zucchini.
Heat the olive oil in a large (4-or 5-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 8 minutes. Add the kohlrabi and carrots and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, 5 minutes; season generously with salt and black pepper.
Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Drain the freekeh, rinse it with cold water, and add it to the pot. Add the broth, zucchini, Parmesan rind if using, za’atar, salt, and the cayenne.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the soup is thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove the Parmesan rind, season with more salt and black pepper to taste, divide among bowls, garnish with herbs, and drizzle with olive oil.
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