This not very attractive kohlrabi was found at my local farm market. It’s not pretty and normally I would skip right over it. But it’s mid April in Upstate New York which means there isn’t much but root vegetables to be had. In the summer, I grate kohlrabi and make a slaw for burgers. But it’s that wild weather ride called early Spring in the North country and I needed comfort food. My mom used to make great scalloped potatoes and I was in need of that kind of creamy cheesy saucy comfort food. So I snagged this funny looking thing and decided to see what kohlrabi tasted like cooked and bathed in cream sauce.
It was somewhat labor intensive and yet came together relatively quickly. Bonus: you can make it ahead of time and then pop it in the oven 30 minutes before dinner goes on the table. After taking the tough outer skin off and slicing it all up with my food processor, I boiled the kohlrabi in salted water for about 5 minutes until it was al dente. I sautéed onions just like my mom used to do to layer with the kohlrabi. I added some grated Colby cheese to the cream sauce because that’s what I had in the fridge. Scalloped potatoes always seemed to be a leftovers kind of dish for my mom. Leftover ham or sausage and whatever cheese was in the fridge went into it to make a new meal out of the old (leftovers). I layered the kohlrabi slices, onions, and cheese sauce and baked it at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
From ugly to delicious! It was so good we went back for thirds! Hubby had it with a lamb steak and I had a blue fish fillet so it’s pretty versatile much like scalloped potatoes. Comfort food at it’s best: healthy with a sense of decadence!
Robin Schneider Larkin 