Crunchy Kohlarbi Salad

Back in May I was walking around the Penn Quarter Farmers Market, and spotted kohlrabi!

I took a quick picture and sent it to my mom.  I remember eating this during my childhood, but could not remember how my mom prepared it.  Sam had never heard of it- so it was fun introducing a new vegetable to him!

What’s a kohlrabi?

Kohlrabi is part of the cabbage family.  It is not a root vegetable, rather it grows just above the ground.  The peak season is spring and early summer, but it can be found year-round.  Small and young kohlrabi are the best.  The bigger ones have a woody, fibrous outer layer that is inedible.  Kohlrabi is very nutritious- low in calories, high in fiber and potassium.

What to do with it when you come home?

1. Remove the steps, cutting or pulling them off from the base.  The leaves can be eaten, added into salads just like lettuce.  Although once the leaves have turned colors (light brown, yellow) the kohlrabi is not fresh.

2. Cut off the bottom base (opposite from where the stems were).

3. Peel off the outer layer- especially if it’s a larger/older kohlrabi.

4. Slice, dice or shred the inside.  Add it to your fresh veggie plate with dips or toss into a salad.

We added our shredded kohlrabi to a salad, which was perfect on a hot day!

Crunchy Kohlrabi Salad
A Fifth Floor Kitchen Original

1-2 kohlrabi, peeled & shredded
1/2 red cabbage, chopped
5 radishes, chopped
1/2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon

Toss all of the ingredients together to make a crunch side salad.

Other ideas for kohlrabi dishes:
Kohlrabi Salad with Apple & Cilantro
Kohlrabi Home Fries
Kohlrabi & Celery Root Purée
Kohlrabi Risotto

Book Club: Dill & Egg Potato Salad and Spring Vegetable Potato Salad

I hosted my Book Club at our house a couple of weeks ago, there were 8 of us here to talk about The Corrections, and catch up on what’s going on in our lives.  Check out what else was on the Book Club menu!

I almost forgot to post the potato salad recipes from when I hosted Book Club.  Since summer is here, these are the perfect dishes to bring over to a friends BBQ, or for a picnic.  I wasn’t sure what kind of potato salad everyone liked, so I decided to make 2 different ones, hopefully satisfying everyone’s taste buds.

I ended up cooking all of the potatoes together to save time, and just divided them amongst the two salads.  Both can be made the day before, just don’t add the vinaigrette until the last minute, or else the salad will get soggy!

Dill & Egg Potato Salad
Adapted from: So Good and Tasty

6-8 baby red potatoes, washed
1/4 cup chives, minced
1/4 cup dill, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 red pepper flakes (optional)
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

Add potatoes to a large pot, pour water over them.  Turn on the heat and bring water to a boil, cook the potatoes until they are soft in the middle so a knife can easily pierce through (the time will depend on the size of the potatoes).  When the potatoes are done, rinse them under cold water.  Then chop them into quarters or smaller pieces.

To make the dressing add all of these ingredients into a small bowl, then whisk them together: chives, dill, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

Toss the potatoes, eggs and dressing together- then serve.

Spring Vegetable Potato Salad
Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen

8-10 fingerling potatoes
1 lb asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 cups sugar snap peas, cut into halves
4 radishes, thinly sliced
4 spring onions, chopped (or green onions)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Add potatoes to a large pot, pour water over them.  Turn on the heat and bring water to a boil, cook the potatoes until they are soft in the middle so a knife can easily pierce through (the time will depend on the size of the potatoes).  When the potatoes are done, rinse them under cold water.  Then chop them into quarters or smaller pieces, add them to a large bowl.

Bring water to a boil in a small pot.  Add in the asparagus and cook it for 2-3 minutes.  Drain it and place it in a bowl of ice cold water for 3 minutes.  Drain it again, and add it into the bowl filled with potatoes.

To the potatoes and asparagus, add the: sugar snap peas, radishes, spring onions and garlic.

In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients for the dressing: olive oil, whole grain mustard, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Finally, toss the dressing with the vegetables and serve.

Food Matters Project & Feta Veggie Salad

Another weekend has gone by, so it means it’s a new Food Matters Project post!

Unfortunately, this week my dish from Mark Bittman’s The Food Matter Cookbook did not turn out.  Although I was a bit disappointed, since it does sound delicious, every single thing you make does not have to come out perfectly!  (right?)  I think I was trying to be a bit too creative, and maybe my heart just wasn’t in this recipe- so I’ll just have to give it another try sometime down the road.

I did salvage it, by adding it to a salad.  Since I’m not too happy with the flavors my fritters had, I won’t be posting the recipe.  Lena, from Mrs. Garlic Head, chose this recipe all the way from Switzerland.  It was a great pick, so you should check out her blog post on Braised Chickpea Fritters for the original recipe.  In addition, look a the Food Matter Project website to see what everyone else made!

Instead, today’s post is a quick and easy feta veggie salad.  We don’t have much in our fridge, just some odds and ends which we’re trying to finish up.  I’m sure many of you have made salads like this before, so I’m not adding any specific amounts to the ingredients.  Check what you have in your fridge- and just throw it all together!

 

Feta Veggie Salad

zucchini
tomatoes
bell pepper (red, yellow)
tomatoes
sugar snap peas
yellow squash
feta cheese
salt
pepper
olive oil

Roughly chop all of the vegetables and mix them in a bowl.  Then add in feta to your taste, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  Lastly, drizzle in a little olive oil.  Serve plain or with some extras (ex: peasant bread, whole wheat pitas, or croquetas)

Tuna and Bean Salad

This past Memorial Day weekend the weather made it clear that summer is here.  In DC, the air was thick, muggy and hot!  Sam and I explored DC a bit and went to a public pool (free to all DC residents when you show your ID).  It was relaxing and refreshing!  We look like we went to the beach over the weekend.

When hot weather comes to town, I search for recipes which don’t require too much time in the kitchen.  I also like food that is lighter and easy to digest.  Obviously, salads are the first choice- but I get sick of the same one’s over and over.  So I search for salads with more color, texture and variety of ingredients.

 

Remember when I mentioned that I studied abroad in Spain, and where I tasted my first croqueta?  Up until then I was not a fan of tuna, it just wasn’t my thing.  Until my señora started making me bocadillos (sandwiches), and many of them had tuna.  So over the course of the summer, my love for tuna grew- I really don’t think I had any choice.

Now that I like tuna, it’s nice to see something other than the regular tuna sandwich.  This salad was perfect: crunchy, light, refreshing and filling!  Yum!  If you wanted something a bit more filling, you can always add these ingredients into your next bocadillo!

Tuna and Bean Salad
Adapted from: Bon Appetit (April 2012)

Salad:
1 head of radicchio, cored & leaves chopped
2 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
2 12 oz cans of water-packed tuna, drained
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 cups of white beans (this was a mix of cannelini and navy)

Dressing:
1 cup chopped parsley
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced

Combine all of the salad ingredients, mix well.  Then combine all vinaigrette ingredients, shake or stir well.  Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and serve.

Triple Green Chicken Salad

About every other month we make chicken stock.  Yes, the kind you boil water, add some veggies, a whole chicken, and some salt and pepper.  It’s delicious, flavorful and I can never wait to add it to future soups.

We always use a whole chicken, and I feel like all the meat should be used.  Since last week we also made bread, I thought a chicken salad would be perfect for lunch!  I wish this past Sunday would have been nicer in DC (it was raining the whole day), otherwise we would have had a little picnic on the Mall for Earth Day.

Need another idea for how to use up leftover chicken?  Try tabbouleh with shredded chicken (and you can make your own pitas too)!

I liked this chicken salad since it had some crunch in it, but rather than using celery, there were other veggies in this.  I also liked it in a tortilla with some lettuce and hot sauce- perfect lunch wrap!

Triple Green Chicken Salad
Adapted from: Bon Appétit Magazine (April 2012)

If you don’t have any leftover chicken, you can poach and shred chicken breasts, or use rotisserie chicken.  More yogurt and less mayo will also give this a great taste, but remember to add some mustard- gives it better flavor.

Dressing:
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Salad:
4 sprigs of tarragon, minced
4 shallots, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb shredded chicken
1 cup sugar snap peas, thinly sliced
1/2 cup snow peas, thinly sliced
1 cup green peas (defrosted or fresh)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup chives, chopped
1 tsp lemon zest

In a bowl combine the following ingredients for the dressing: yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

In a larger bowl combine the rest of the ingredients for the chicken salad: tarragon, shallots, garlic, chicken, sugar snap peas, snow peas, green peas, parsley, chives, and lemon zest.  Mix all of the ingredients together, then add the dressing.  Continue to stir until everything is well mixed.