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The Protein-Rich Veggie Your Life Is Missing + 5 Easy Ways To Add It To Your Diet

Author:

Carolina Santos-Neves

January 29, 2017

By Carolina Santos-Neves

mbg Contributor

Carolina Santos-Neves is a graduate of the Chef Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts and is presently the chef of Hungry Beast, (CDMX) a kitchen & Juice Bar that focuses on flavors from all over the world with a focus on using organic and local products.

January 29, 2017

I'll be the first to admit it, up until a few weeks ago I was not much of a kohlrabi advocate. To me, it looks like it came from the dinosaur era and feels almost mutated. But! It keeps appearing in CSA boxes and on grocery stands, so I did some more research and came to find out that it's in the same family as kale, collards, broccoli, and mustard greens. What's inside, though, is totally unique. Kohlrabi isn't starchy like a potato or celeriac. It's fresh, vibrant, and crisp. The closest comparison I've found is combining an unsweetened Granny Smith apple with jicama, a crunchy veggie most commonly found in Latin America.

When I asked Farmer Zach Wolf from the Farm at Locust in Hudson why kohlrabi wasn't that popular, despite containing 5.5 grams of protein and loads of vitamin C, he told me, "People don't know what to do with it! I have so much of it, and no one is buying it!"

He recommends adding it to any stir-fry, simply roasting it, or eating it like you would a radish, with an herb butter. I've been playing around with the vegetable a bit since then, and here are the results of that—five easy ways to incorporate kohlrabi into your life:

1. Turn it into a tortilla.

The last time I was in Mexico, I was introduced to a jicama tortilla, or peeled jicama, thinly sliced it to resemble a tortilla. I tried the same technique with kohlrabi, and it worked brilliantly! Top it with your favorite taco filling (I'm a big fan of shrimp), slice of avocado, and your favorite salsa and crema, and you've got yourself a corn- and wheat-free taco.

2. Add it to a curry.

Next time you make a veggie curry, replace one of your starchier ingredients like potatoes with cubes of kohlrabi. Not only will you up the protein, but you'll decrease the number of carbs (from 37 grams to 8!).

3. Dip it good.

Kohlrabi is the perfect vehicle for dip for when you want to snack or for when you're having people over. Plus, kohlrabi is much easier on your palate than radish, which can have a sharp kick to it.

4. Have a lasagna night.

If you peel the kohlrabi, then thinly slice and parboil the "noodles," you can turn your favorite comfort food into something much lighter! Up the ante even more by adding some additional veggies like spinach or mushroom (or both) to it.

5. Spice up your breakfast sides.

It's a weekend morning and you're craving hash browns. Trust me—we've all been there. Just sub in kohlrabi for the potato and we bet you won't even be able to tell the difference in flavor.