Carrot Kohlrabi Bake

My Sausage Boy had a playdate last week with one of his preschool pals. When I went over to their house to pick him up the mom, Amy, and I got into a discussion about her winter garden. Apparently she has a green thumb and her Dad has an emerald thumb. He can and does grow anything. He set Amy up with lettuces, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi for her winter garden. Turns out Amy loves it all BUT the kohlrabi. Being her friend, of course I told her I would take it if she insisted. I played it cool, but I was pretty excited to get my hands on the kohlrabi. I mean it's not something you see in the local Kroger and I was having a dinner party for my family, they will eat just about anything. I figure if I screwed it up, I was still pretty safe. See I've eaten it grated raw in slaw, but I wanted to take it into my kitchen and make something with it.

This is kohlrabi in all it's glory.

I admit, it is a strange plant. You eat the bulbous part that grows just above ground. You can eat the greens too. It's a member of the cabbage family and tastes kinda like a radish, but sweeter.  I got mine home and pulled off the roots. Then I snapped off the leaves and gave those to the Girls - who were pretty excited about something new. Then I peeled the bulbs so they would not have a "woody" texture since I was baking them. Once I chopped them up, they were perfect for this recipe. I bet I could even convert Amy into a kohlrabi lover with this one. The carrots are sweet and the kohlrabi adds some bite. It's delicious and my family agreed.

Carrot Kohlrabi Bake
from Birds & Blooms

Ingredients
3 medium kohlrabies, peeled and chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 c chopped onion
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1 1/2 c milk
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 c soft bread crumbs

Microwave carrots and kohlrabies in a little water on High for 10 minutes. Drain off the water.

In a small skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Add flour, salt and pepper. Stir until blended. Cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk a little at a time. Each time you are waiting for the sauce to thicken before you add the next bit of milk. Add about 1/4 c each time. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened again.

Pour sauce, parsley, lemon into carrot/ kohlrabi mix and stir. Dump into a greased two quart baking dish (basically a little smaller than a 9x13 pan). Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs. (See recipe below to make them.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Soft Bread Crumbs
frozen bread
food processor

I keep these on hand in a bag in the freezer. My kids don't like the ends of bread loaves so I collect them in a bread bag in the freezer. I also use my mistakes - bread that just didn't rise enough when I made it. Or rolls that are always leftover from whatever party/ holiday event was most recent. When I have enough bread frozen, I pull out the food processor. Just put the slices in and turn that baby on. Pulse it until you have large crumbs, then put them all back in the bag and back in the freezer. Easy! You can use them to top mac n cheese, or just about any casserole. You can also use them to bread fish like this. What do you put them on?