Kohlrabi Latkes

What on earth does one do with that strange, Sputnik-like root, kohlrabi, when it turns up in your veg box?  In the past, I have braised it with butter, stock, garlic and lots of herbs and lemon juice, and I've also made it into a slaw, by finely shredding and mixing the raw veg with spring onions in a herby mayo.  But this is definitely the nicest way - let's face it, anything is improved by being fried!  (except, perhaps, a Mars bar, as my compatriots do in Scotland......hmmmm).  Anyway, grate the peeled kohlrabi and mix with a small egg, a tablespoon of plain flour, a clove of garlic, crushed, the zest of a lemon and plenty of salt and black pepper.  Heat a centimetre of oil (sunflower or rapeseed) in a non-stick pan, and fry dessertspoons of the mix, pressed flat, keeping the heat on the high side.  Turn after a minute or so once lovely and golden, and when done, lay out on several sheets of kitchen paper to blot excess fat.  Eat straight away or reheat in a single layer on a baking sheet and serve with poached eggs and a watercress salad for a lovely lunch or light supper.

Baked New Potatoes and Kohlrabi

Sorry for the news black-out, folks, I have been enjoying myself in sunny Dorset for a week, making the most of the local seafood restaurants and enjoying some of the best fish I've ever eaten - proper wild sea bass, spanking fresh mackerel and the most wonderful hand-dived scallops from Lyme Bay.  Anyway, back to land-locked Oxford.  The veg box had been delivered and I was immediately greeted with the strange 'Sputnik' vegetable, kohlrabi.  A Facebook chat with my chum, Austen, about turnips (as you do) gave me the idea to use the kohlrabi.  Simply halve some new potatoes (don't use Jersey Royals for this, they are too nice!) and chop your peeled kohlrabi into similar dimensions.  Toss the pieces in a tablespoon of olive oil and some chopped garlic and season well.  Put a couple of sprigs of thyme in a parchment-lined roating tin, and add the veg.  Bake at 180C for half-an-hour.  Now, pour over about 30 g or so of butter and return to the oven for a final 15 minutes - this adds a delicious rich nuttiness to the dish.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley (I forgot!) and eat straight away.  Any leftovers can be made into a Spanish egg tortilla.  This is adapted from Riverford's 'butter baked turnips and potatoes'.

Watercress Soup with Kohlrabi and Wild Garlic

Based on a Simon Hopkinson recipe that uses turnip, but as I got kohlrabi in the veg box this week, I substituted that instead. The wild garlic also arrived in the veg box and was so pungent that I had to put it outside, as it made the whole flat smell! This is just a classic watercress soup recipe with some additions: a couple of leeks, whites only (or onions if you don't have leeks) sweated in some butter, along with the whites of the wild garlic - about two stems. Add a good 250g of peeled chopped kohlrabi or turnip and allow to sweat until all is soft. Add a pint of light stock and bring to the boil, then simmer until everything is really tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, wash a bunch of watercress and chop the toughest stems off. Chop them finely and add to the simmering soup. Save the leaves of the cress and garlic until last. When all is cooked, throw in the watercress leaves and finer stalks and the reserved wild garlic green leaves, bring to the boil and then immediately blend until smooth. 'Let' the soup down a little with some milk or cream, but not too much. Eat as soon as possible before that wonderful vibrant green goes.