Kohlrabi Salad

Name: Kohlrabi Salad with Apples and Fresh Herbs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Italian cuisine
Ingredients: Kohlrabi 1; Sweet-and-sour apples 1-2; Romaine lettuce 1 bunch; Green onion 1-2; White salad onion 1; Mixed herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil) 0.5 bunch; Olive oil 3 tbsp; Salt, oregano to taste; Lemon juice 1 tsp, if the onion is sharp

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15 mins

This light, tasty salad of kohlrabi, lettuce leaves, fresh herbs and apples makes a perfect appetizer at the start of a meal. Like most raw vegetable salads, it is dressed with olive oil and vinegar, balsamic or wine. For variety, or to improve the flavor, you can dress the kohlrabi salad with a sauce of your choice.

Ready-made salads are often decorated with slices of fruit and vegetables. But it is much more interesting to build a salad from coarsely cut ingredients. Coarse cutting is more typical of European cuisines, while here we prefer to chop everything very fine.

When I was little, my grandmother made sauerkraut every fall. There were huge oak barrels as tall as me and lots of heads of white cabbage. Sauerkraut was always on the table. While it was being made, the grandchildren’s favorite pastime, besides getting in the grown-ups’ way, was waiting for the cabbage cores to appear. An incredible treat. We sprinkled a little salt on them and crunched away like rabbits.

We didn’t yet know that there was such a thing as kohlrabi. It is a variety of ordinary cabbage, but with very few leaves that don’t form a head, and a thick round stem with that same coveted core inside. It looks like a turnip, and in fact its name comes from German and means “cabbage turnip.” You eat the leaves and the core, peeled of its tough outer layers.

The juicy, slightly sweet flesh of kohlrabi lacks the mild bitterness typical of cabbage. A kohlrabi salad needs no special preparation or extras to improve the flavor.

The simplest kohlrabi salad, or really an appetizer, is quick to make. Just peel off the two outer layers, which are tough and fibrous, then shred the flesh and pour over a dressing or lemon juice. If you have the time and the ingredients, it is better to add apples, herbs and coarsely torn salad leaves. If you can get tart apples, you don’t need to add vinegar or lemon juice to the dressing.

9 ingredientsTo the recipe

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Ingredients

4 servings

Kohlrabi 1
Sweet-and-sour apples 1-2
Romaine lettuce 1 bunch
Green onion 1-2
White salad onion 1
Mixed herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil) 0.5 bunch
Olive oil 3 tbsp
Salt, oregano to taste
Lemon juice 1 tsp, if the onion is sharp

Step-by-step recipe

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Keep in mind that this salad is made of several ingredients that are not cooked at all. All the vegetables and apples must be fresh and crisp, especially the lettuce and herbs. To keep herbs fresh and crisp, we usually soak them in cold water and store them in a container. This way of keeping herbs has proven itself over many years.
For the kohlrabi salad it is best to take dense, dark green lettuce leaves. Romaine, which is used in Caesar salad, is ideal. Endive works well too, but it is a little bitter. Tear the clean leaves, dried of any drops of water, into pieces with your fingers. Don’t cut the lettuce, so that it doesn’t release liquid. Tear all the herbs the same way, discarding the stems. Slice the green onion tops, without the white part. Sprinkle the lettuce and herbs with a pinch of fine salt and toss.
If you are adding a mild sweet onion to the kohlrabi salad, just peel it and cut it into very thin strips. If the onion is noticeably sharp and strong-smelling, mix it with 1 tsp lemon juice and stir. Peel the kohlrabi thoroughly. It has two outer layers: a green or purple skin and a fibrous layer underneath.
You can cut the kohlrabi any way you like, but the salad will be more tender if you shave the core with a knife. A vegetable peeler gives thin, perfect slices. There are also plenty of shredders and slicers for vegetables. The kohlrabi comes out as large, very thin, almost transparent shavings.
Add the prepared kohlrabi to the herbs. If the white onion was mixed with lemon juice, squeeze it out very lightly. Add the onion to the kohlrabi and herbs. Sprinkle the salad with a pinch of dried oregano. Toss, trying to distribute all the components evenly.
Peel the apples and remove the cores and seeds. Cut the flesh into thin slices. Add the sliced apples to the kohlrabi salad and toss. It’s better not to dress the salad until serving.
Mound the kohlrabi salad into salad bowls or small plates. If the apples aren’t tart enough and you think a vinaigrette, a mix of oil and any food acid, would suit the appetizer better, mix olive oil with a little lemon juice, wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar in a cup. Whisk with a fork and pour over the kohlrabi salad. There’s no need to toss it; do that at the table.
You can serve the kohlrabi, herb and apple salad without chilling it, because the flavor of the cabbage and herbs comes out better at room temperature. The salad mix can be used as a side dish for meat. If you serve it as an appetizer, I suggest adding lavash with herbs instead of bread. It’s very tasty.