Kohlrabi is actually a favorite veggie of mine, but I normally have to explain it to anybody I mention it to. I'll have to go get some now

They're not in season now, are they?

We grew these in our garden when I was a kid. They were fine until they got over-ripe and fibery.

Yeah, neither of these are in season here now, but we do have some seeds to plant in the next few weeks... It'll be nice to get some good recipes going in my head to inspire me while I plant my seedlings!

Nope, not in season, but I was hoping to challenge people to try to use new veggies, and these two just got stuck in my mind for all the fun things that can be done with them!

Kale's pretty in season where I am (pacific northwest). It's an overwintering vegetable here.

Wow, I should write a kale recipe... I use it quite often!

Kohlrabi... I enjoy cut on fresh veggie plates with dip. Or maybe shredded and used in a wrap or salad roll. Mmm...

Excited to see what recipes people share!

Kohlrabi I've only ever eaten raw, and kale is for me more often than not just steamed and served on top of black beans and rice... neither one has ever been central for a meal. This will be a neat challenge!

I think I'll try my hand at making sushi rolls using kale instead of seaweed. I just need to figure out how I want to treat the kale so it is flat and flexible.

A few weeks ago, my wife brought me leftovers she had at a Peruvian restaurant, and they had a pesto that had, among other things, jicama in it. I think I'll try and make a somewhat similar pesto but replace the jicama with kohlrabi. since they have similar textures. I'll probably make a few sushi rolls with this pesto as well.

The only thing we've ever used kohlrabi for is as a fresh pickle. We slice it into bite sized chips and do a quick pickle in vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and a touch of sesame oil (the darker Asian variety).

I'm curious to see what other people do with it.

Kale is great in soups and stews! If you've ever had one with spinach in it and the flavor was a little sweet and flat, try kale instead or something a bit bitter.

Conversely, if the seasoning seems really harsh and coarse, try spinach.

I love kale!

I actually use it quite often wilted, in mashed potatoes (an Irish dish called colcannon). I should get the recipe in here.

So my plans are to make a pickle out of kohlrabi to go with some grilled steak, and to turn the kale into chips, flavored with lemon and a bit of cayenne.... yum!

I made my Iron Chef Eden kale and kohlrabi dish tonight. It was sushi. I used both the kale and kohlrabi in two ways to make the finished sushi rolls. First off, I have to say that these are the ugliest sushi rolls you will ever see in your life. In fact, I dubbed them Frankensushi. This is the first time I've ever made sushi, and it is clear I need some serious instruction on how to do it properly.



Ironically, the only roll that turned out somewhat well was the one I screwed up. I was trying to get the rice on the outside of the roll, and for the first two (in the back) I did. As you can see, that was an unmitigated disaster. To make the outside, I had been placing the kale on the bottom, then putting rice on top, finally flipping it over at the end to start adding the filling. For the third roll, I forgot to flip it over. As it turns out, it was the only roll I could cut and which managed to stay in pieces that held together as you picked it up.

OK, so this is what I did. I steamed some dinosaur (Lacinto) kale for about 10 minutes until it was limp, then I layered them on a baking stone, salted them, and dried them in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour. That ended up getting them to the perfect consistency (about identical to the seaweed used in other sushi). Then I took sections of the layered kale, added the rice, and started the sushi wrap. Inside I put raw ahi tuna, some fresh crab that I spiced up with some sriracha and sugar, raw kohlrabi, fried kale, and a pesto. The pesto contained avocado, cilantro, perilla (a mint-like Japanese herb), chunks of kohlrabi, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I have to say that for as ugly as the rolls looked, the taste was phenomenal. It turned out precisely how I had hoped. The pesto was complex and creamy, the tuna was sweet, the crab was spicy, the kohlrabi and fried kale were crunchy- it all matched wonderfully (as well as, if not better, any sushi I've ever had). The kale wrapping worked so well that I think I prefer it to seaweed in that it adds a flavor that complemented and added to the dish, rather than just sit there like seaweed does. Aside from learning how to make the roll correctly, I wouldn't change a thing - a rare thing when I cook.

Interesting