Kohlrabi "Latkes"

Every Sunday evening, I get together with my sister and brother-in-law for dinner and some HBO viewing at what they've deemed "Sunday Night Wind Down."  They've been hosting the Wind Down almost every week for the last several years, as they've moved from New York to Philadelphia to Columbus.  It's an ideal way to start the week/end the weekend, especially since my bro-in-law also loves to cook and we work rather well together in the kitchen.

The soundtrack for our kitchen work varies from "This American Life" episodes to '90s  hip-hop to obscure indie bands, depending on who is DJing. Wine and microbrews flow, several hunks of cheese get eaten while we're cooking, and we'll then troop into the living room to eat and catch up on the lives of the Stackhouses, Atlantic City gangsters, or the Starks of Winterfell.

Because the sibs and I both have CSA shares, we've got a lot of vegetables at our disposal, and it can be a challenge to find interesting ways to use some of our products. Like kohlrabi, for example.  It made a good slaw earlier this summer, but now that it's cooler, slaw is less appealing, and roasting...well, we do roasting with a ton of other veggies already.  After putting some thought into it, I realized that we could probably shred the kohlrabi and make it into faux-potato pancakes.  We had a plethora of fresh dill on hand, so that was chopped up and added to the kohlrabi as well as the sour cream topping.

Mixed with some egg, flour, and shaped into finger sized cakes, the kohlrabi fried up nicely to serve as an amuse bouche while we worked on the rest of dinner. (For the record, it was this outstanding deconstructed pumpkin ravioli.) I would imagine that this would be equally good with any shred-able root veg--turnip? Rutabaga?  Additionally, you could use whatever fresh herbs you have on hand to season it.  It's pretty hard to screw up pan fried anything...

Kohlrabi "Latkes"

Latkes:
2 kohlrabi, peeled and shredded
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
pepper

Topping:
1/2 cup sour cream
1-2 tsp dill
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon (more or less) lemon juice

1. Toss shredded kohlrabi with salt and allow to sit for 20-30 to drain excess moisture.  Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add eggs, flour, dill, and pepper, stir to combine.

3. Combine the sour cream, dill, salt and pepper, and lemon juice to taste and keep in the fridge to allow flavors to blend.

2. In a skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of oil to medium heat. Form the kohlrabi into loosely packed cakes 1-2 inches in diameter and saute on both sides until browned.

4. Remove from heat, place on a paper towel to drain excess oil and top with a dollop of sour cream.  Serve at your next fancy party or a weeknight dinner.



Comments

Ann O said…
Maybe I'll try this with white Japanese turnips
October 18, 2011 at 7:50 PM
The Ham Sandwich said…
@Fancy Pants: thanks! @Ann O: great idea!
October 25, 2011 at 11:55 AM
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