Kohlrabi Crunch Salad

I love summer for so many reasons. Living on the East Coast, you really have a super short window in which to soak in the sun, eat outside, and enjoy fresh local produce.

This is my third year participating in a CSA (Community Support Agriculture). The first year, I bought a share with ReVision Urban Farms, which is a great nonprofit program that works in conjunction with a women's shelter to teach women real life work skills. The vegetables were fantastic, and it was my first time experiencing a farm share.

Last year, I signed up through my workplace with Siena Farms, whose beautiful produce is also used by the likes of Oleana, No. 9 Park, Menton, Market by Jean Georges, Upstairs on the Square, and Hungry Mother.

This year, my company decided to switch farms, mostly because people did not like having to deal with the various exotic vegetables that came out of Siena Farms (even though I personally loved experimenting with it all!).

So, this year I've been enjoying my share from Silverbrook Farms. It's been fun in a different way. They give us farm fresh eggs, jams, cheeses, along with fresh vegetables from their farm.

Recently, we received a few stalks of kohlrabi, one of my favorite summertime vegetables.

Kohlrabi is in the same family as cabbage, and related to broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts. The texture is crunchy, not unlike broccoli stem, but better!

Most kohlrabi you see in the supermarket does not come with the leaves attached. My guess is that the leaves draw water away from the bulbous part, thus reducing the shelf life of the kohlrabi itself. At farmers markets you are more likely to see the entire plant, which is cool because you can eat the leaves too (more on that in another post!).

My favorite way to enjoy kohlrabi is just to eat it raw, tossed with some salt, sesame oil, soy sauce, and a sprinkling of crushed red peppers. Remove the tough outer skin (I used a knife, but you could try using a peeler), and slice into thin matchsticks. Toss with salt and sesame oil to taste. You can add soy sauce and a bit of minced garlic too if you'd like, though it's not necessary. Sprinkle with a bit of crushed red pepper flakes.

Eat immediately, or store in the refrigerator overnight for even better results.

A perfect, summer treat.