Kohlrabi & Red Chard Lasagne

You ever heard of Kohlrabi? We're about to make a Kohlrabi and Swiss Chard Lasagne.Oh my, this Lasagne is absolutely delicious! I got the recipe from a reference book called The Vegetable Bible. The front part of the book is a very useful encyclopedia of vegetables. In the back of the book, you'll find some recipes. The recipe for this dish in the book is not without a few errors of omission, but hey ... it's an old addition ... so maybe the updated version has been fixed. But not to worry, for I'm about to give you the recipe I fixed and the result is awesome (if I don't say so myself, and I believe I will:-)

When I saw the vegetable and learned how to speak the name, my immediate instinct was that it must be an African tuber. Not so. Now you might be as surprised as I was to learn of its origin from Wikipedia.

 

 "Kohlrabi (German Turnip) (Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group) is a low, stout cultivar of the cabbage that will grow almost anywhere. It has been selected for its swollen, nearly spherical shape. The name comes from the German Kohl ("cabbage") plus Rübe ~ Rabi (Swiss German variant) ("turnip"), because the swollen stem resembles the latter. The same roots are also found in the German word "Kohlrübe", which refers to the rutabaga. Kohlrabi has been created by artificial selection for lateral meristem growth; its origin in nature is the same as that of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard greens, and brussels sprouts: They are all bred from, and are the same species as, the wild cabbage plant (Brassica oleracea). The taste and texture of kohlrabi are similar to those of a broccoli stem or cabbage heart, but milder and sweeter, with a higher ratio of flesh to skin."

Where can you buy Kohlrabi? My instinct was to try Whole Foods. I learned "We don't have it today." The answer suggests they have it now and then. My next stop was the new and big Harris Teeter located at Garrett Road and NC 54 in Durham, North Carolina. They had a beautiful display of fresh Kohlrabi in their organic section. Bingo! I was so excited and ready to begin my quest for a fabulous new dish. It is! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

 

• 4 Kohlrabi (This may look a little like another vegetable; make sure it is labeled Kohlrabi!)
• 2-3 Medium size fresh tomatoes
• 1 Large bunch Swiss red chard (about 1and 1/4th pound)
• 6 Tablespoons butter
• 2 1/4 Cups milk
• 1 Cup heavy cream
• 4 Tablespoons sour cream
• 12 Lasagne sheets
• 2-3 Packages shredded Swiss cheese (I'd go for 3 :-)
• 2 shallots
• Olive oil spray (or cooking spray)
• Salt
• Ground white pepper
• 1 Egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
• Nutmeg
• Ovenproof Lasagne pan or dish

This recipe will make 12-14 servings. You may wish to cut the recipe in half for a small family or make the whole recipe, serve it for 2 nights and/or freeze leftovers in serving sides your family can eat. This dish reheats beautifully. I do the later. This takes enough work to do the work for more than one meal.

Instructions:

This will take some work but it is not hard to do. Good things often require work. If this old boy can do it, so can you!

1. Cut the stems, leaves, and roots off of the Kohlrabi; keep the leaves.

2. Slice the Kohlrabi vegetable into thin rounds as you would a potato and set them aside.

3. Cut the tomatoes into strips and set them aside (If you, like, peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds - I don't).

4. Separate the red stalks of the Swiss chard from the leaves and separate and then cut out and discard the major rib or vein from the leaves (but keep those stalks!). 

5. Cut the leaves of the Swiss chard and the Kohlrabi into long strips, and set them aside. 

6. Starting at the top of the Chard stems, use the sharp edge of your knife to remove the strings (as you would with celery) and discard the strings. Cut the stems into 3/4 inch chunks and set the chunks aside. You haven't done this before? Okay. It's easy. Stand a stalk up with the skin facing you. Put the sharp edge of the knife at the very edge of the top of the stalk and carefully pull down with your knife. You should only be removing strings from the skin.

7. Peel the shallots, discard the peels and chop the shallots, and set aside.

8. Bring a pan of salted water to a bowl and boil the Lasagne pasta for 5 minutes. Pour the water and pasta into a colander to drain off the hot water and pour the pasta into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside.

9. Saute the Kohlrabi slices in  a skillet with 3 Tablespoons of melted butter. Season with salt, ground white pepper, and a dash or two of nutmeg. Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of flour. Pour in the milk and cream and simmer for 10 minutes.Set the Kohlrabi slices aside in a bowl to cool.

10. Use the skillet to saute the diced chard stalks and shallots in 3 tablespoons of butter. Put them in a small bowl and set them aside.

NOW let's bring all of this work together and I guarantee you your work will be worth the result, extraordinary flavor of this dish, and the sensational compliments that will be paid to you ... the chef!

11. Spray the oven proof pan/dish with olive or cooking oil and preheat your oven to 350 degrees!

12. Put 3 strips of Lasagne pasta side by side in the bottom of the pan/dish

13. Build the first layer of the ingredients starting with the Kohlrabi rounds; strips of Swiss chard/Kohlrabi leaves; distribute chunks of the sauteed shallots/Kohlrabi stalks; strips of tomatoes, and sprinkle with grated swiss cheese. ARE YOU BEGINNING TO FEEL THE FLAVOR IN YOUR TASTE BUDS?

 14. Lay three strips of Lasagne side by side on top of the first layer

15. Put a second layer of all of the ingredient goodies on top of the pasta. YES ... GET EXCITED!

16. Put 3 more strips of Pasta side by side on top of the second layer.

17. Hold'er Newt! Add 1 egg yolk to the 4 Tablespoons of sour cream and whisk together. Now brush the mix of sour cream and egg yolk on top of the final layer of pasta.

18. Sprinkle at least one package of shredded Swiss cheese all over the top!

AND NOW PUT THIS MASTERPIECE in a pre-heated 350 degree oven  for 40-45 minutes. After all of this preparation, pour a glass of red wine, sit down, and rest while this wonderful dish is baking.

Serve the meal with a loaf of Artisan bread and butter and wine. You're going to love this meal! 

Comments

[Allotment2kitchen.blogspot.com]

I've just harvested my first kohlrabi and was on the hunt for something different from coleslaw and I stumble upon your blog and this recipe. Wow, I also have some chard growing in my garden plot, so this recipe is one that I am bookmarking. Thank you so much for sharing.

So glad you found some to try too.

[Ross Pipes]

Thanks! I love this dish. We returned from a mountain vacation Friday evening ... pulled some frozen leftovers of this dish from our freezer ... and enjoyed the Kohlrabi and Red Chard dish again. I also made some roasted pearl onions to go with it. I just posted the roasted pearl onion side dish. Thanks for writing, Ross