Recipe Corner: Mighty Sputnik

This post was imported from my short-lived, now-defunct food blog, Cooking With Ginger.

A couple of weeks ago this strange and seemingly extra-terrestrial vegetable appeared in our organic box delivery. Thanks to the clever citizens of the internet, I quickly discovered it was kolhrabi. Most people recommended I try it raw, and indeed the lovely and famous Clotilde once wrote about the joys of pressing slices of it into a wee pile of sea salt. And it sounds even more exotic in French: le chou-rave!

In the end I opted for this Kohlrabi Slaw. If you're trying to lose some blubber, SLAWS ARE YOUR FRIEND, people! Sick of lunchtime salads? Tired of grilled fish for dinner? Worrying about how to fit in your Five A Day? Just get out the grater, baby. It's easy to mow through a pile of vegetables when they're in slaw form. And you don't need barrells of mayo either! This recipe calls for just a few tablespoons, but I think it would taste fine if you left it out altogether and just used the lime juice and vinegar. We had this with some tuna steaks and a oven-roasted potato wedges. The kohlrabi is zingy and fresh and makes a nice change from ol' fashioned cabbage-based slaws. Thanks for your help, Internet Detectives!

KOHLRABI SLAW

Serves: 4

Source: Slashfood

1 large kohlrabi, peeled and grated

1/2 fuji apple, peeled and grated (I used a whole bog-standard Braeburn!)

1 carrot, peeled and grated

1/2 sweet yellow or red onion, thinly sliced

handful of chopped parsley (whoops, forgot this)

juice of half a lime

3 or 4 shakes of sherry wine vinegar (I subbed white wine vinegar)

mayonnaise, just enough to bind ingredients

sea salt and fresh ground pepper