Ploughman’s salad with kohlrabi, apple and Cheddar
Hello, hello. No surprises that my first recipe of the year is a salad. The Christmas cake, Lindt chocolate, Sauternes and Stilton mountain is still yet to be conquered in our house – and I don’t mean the one residing round my middle (but I’m starting on that). I grabbed assorted visitors from our house and headed off virtously early to the Farmer’s Market as always this Friday. One of the delights of shopping there is the banter that goes on at the stalls. It’s a multi-cultural information exchange with the farmer and shoppers all from different ethnic and culinary backgrounds.
“What is this?” and “What do you do with this?” are common questions and evoke a myriad of answers depending who you are next to. Kohlrabi often mystifies people and my own experience of eating it probably started with the market.
A carpaccio of kohlrabi, thinly sliced on a mandoline, doused with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing, scattered with a few fresh herbs was my starting point. Since then it’s crept up in many of my salads – I think it needs a little sweet or sour to balance the slight cabbagey taste. I’ve roasted in segments and sliced into gratins recently and it’s a revelation. More of that soon… but in the meantime a little idea for your lunch at home or to go.
A Ploughman’s lunch traditionally consists of a chunk of cheese, an apple, possibly some chutney and a hunk of bread. It’s the ultimate picnic lunch for a worker. This is a lighter healthier salad idea using fresh kohlrabi which is in season locally right now here in Dubai. It’s more of an idea than a recipe – feel free to grate or spiralize the kohlrabi or use a different dressing (a mint and yoghurt for instance). And don’t chuck the greens – they can be thinly sliced and sauteed, juiced or smoothied too.
Ploughman's salad with kohlrabi, apple and Cheddar
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of edible argan oil (I use Arganic) or extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small fresh kohlrabi
- 1 crisp eating apple (Cox’s orange Pippin would be good)
- 60g mature Cheddar cheese
- a small handful of dried cranberries, walnuts or pecans (optional)
- A few sprigs of parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped (optional)
Method
- Combine the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper together in a bowl.
- Peel the kohlrabi, cut it into thin matchsticks and toss immediately with the dressing in the bowl.
- Cut each side off the apple (so the core is cut out as a rectangle). Slice into fine slivers. Add to the bowl and toss well to stop the apple from going brown.
- Cut the Cheddar into sticks and fold (with the cranberries or nuts if using) into the other ingredients.
- Sprinkle chopped parsley over the top.
Any New Year eating resolutions? How do you like to eat kohlrabi?
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My Custard Pie 
That looks good. I’ve never eaten kohl rabi but been too lazy to look up recipes. Perhaps this will get me started. Love the cutting board pic too.
Thanks – recipes are a bit few and far between. Definitely worth a try — and simple is good with fresh produce. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I’ve never quite known what to do with kohlrabi so I’m looking forward to trying your suggestion of drenching it in olive oil and lemon. Are the leaves edible too?
Yes the leaves are edible. I shredded them into a gratin the other night. They have quite a strong taste – probably better cooked than raw…. or juiced.
I popped into the Farmer’s Market on Friday, picked up some eggs but I am going back this weekend to pick up some veggies 😉
Hope to catch up over a Coffee Planet flat white and a spinach and fried egg muffin.
Kohlrabi has been on my ‘new foods’ pinterest board for ages, but having quite got around to trying it yet. Thanks for the springboard.
It’s a very interesting vegetable. It goes a bit sweet when you cook it. I’m a total convert.
Is it a winter veg like cabbage? I’m going to have to try it soon I think. Last week artichokes, this week kohlrabi. Have a great week Sally
Lovely salad and perfect post-Xmas!
I’ve actually been contemplating green juices for breakfast! #overdoneit
Mmm, lovely idea – love kohlrabi but usually put it in soup so. Sounds like a really fresh idea!
For me of course there are no Christmas leftovers, however, the wonderful cheese fest now begins as all the luxury cheeses are now half price at the supermarket! 😉
Lucky you. Haven’t tried kohlrabi in a soup. Next on the list.
I won a silly car quiz once by guessing kohlrabi – it was the days before mobile phones and none of the others believed me that such a vegetable existed – we had to wait till we got home to look it up and confirm my win!!! And yet I’ve never cooked with it!
And how to pronounce it Kavey? I was saying it to rhyme with a Jewish religious leader and everyone fell about laughing. But like rabbit without the t doesn’t feel right either.
My mom used to grow kohlrabi in our garden. It’s one of my favorites,
How exotic. My Mum grew veg but Brussels sprouts were as adventurous as it got.
I’ve never tried kohlrabi, never really had the opportunity. I see it from time to time in the market, next time i’ll buy one and give it a try, thinly sliced with oil and lemon
Really, really thin – lots of lemon juice. I think you’ll love it. Let me know.
Well Sally I did it, tonight I served a kohlrabi salad as you suggested. i sliced it paper thin with the mandolin and dressed it with loads of lemon juice and a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper. What a revealation! We all loved the crisp texture and fresh sweetish flavour. Thanks for pushing me in kohlrabi’s direction, a lively new ingredient for me to add to summer salads
SO glad you liked it. I am coming to the conclusion that it’s a ‘marmite’ like vegetable. KP can’t abide it in any form… I know…. I’ve tried!
My kind of salad! I am a big fan of kohlrabi.
Cheers,
rosa
Would love to see what you do with it Rosa.
Oooh this looks lovely! Can’t beat a good ploughman’s, but I don’t think I’ve ever had it in salad form. I love the addition of kohlrabi!
What a great idea after all the rich foods we’ve all been consuming over the holidays 🙂
Awesome take on a classic – this sounds perfect 🙂
I’ve never tried kohlrabi either. I definitely need to give it a try. This salad looks so fresh and delicious!
Nice idea….but I can’t remember seeing kohlrabi here in France which means that I have to enjoy the idea vicariously:)
Well thank you for this – I keep seeing kohlrabi here and haven’t really known what to do with it…
I could eat that right now – made me hungry!
Craving crunchy these days. And isn’t kohlrabi fun? Like outer space vegetable.
This would have been a fab recipe to have while we were growing kohlrabi…hmmm..maybe I need to plant some more.. 🙂
My lunch salad today will be similar with the addition of chicken. Thanks for a new suggestion for kohlrabi.
I don’t think I’ve ever had kohl rabi – my only memory of it is when I was 21 and working in Sainsbury’s part time that I did the clicheed thing of having to ask the customer what it was!!!
I bet it goes well with some of that stilton too 😉
This looks simply delicious! I have to try that recipe 🙂
http://www.allthingsanimazing.com
A great recipe for the under appreciated kohlrabi! I especially like a heartier salad in the winter and this Ploughman’s would be wonderful for dinner with a warming bowl of soup for it’s companion.
I’ve never eaten kohlrabi – you’ve intrigued me!