Aliens in the Supermarket #4: Kohlrabi

 Kohlrabi.  This odd-looking vegetable, with its purple skin and odd swirly bits (which are actually just where the sideways-growing roots have been removed) is a bit of a mystery to many of us in the Western world.  There really aren't many recipes at all outside of Indian cuisine which call for this cabbage relative, so it tends to be overlooked, as... well, what really is there to do with it?  The answer is:  just about anything.  This vegetable has a flavor similar to cabbage hearts or broccoli stems, yet a texture pretty close to that of an apple, with a fairly hearty skin.  It can be eaten raw, steamed, stir-fried, or my personal favorite method:  roasted.  Today, I'm going to show you how!

It's strangely pretty.

Preparation:

 Let's begin by slicing off the top and bottom of the vegetable, plus any extra root bits that may be sticking out.  Rinse the kohlrabi once you've done this.

Pesky bits removed.

 Next, we'll want to break down the vegetable into slices for roasting.  While tempting to do the roasting "ratatouille-style" in whole slices, the toughness of kohlrabi makes it rather difficult to get whole slices all the way across.  So instead, just quarter the vegetable, and slice it from there.  The ideal roasting thickness for these is around 1cm (1/3in).

PHOTOGRAPHY MAGIIIIC!!!

 Once you've got the kohlrabi nicely sliced up, toss the slices with a bit of olive oil until they're nicely coated.

A teaspoon of oil, helps the vegetables go brooowwwwnn~

 In the meantime, go ahead and preheat the oven to 400F.

Oven controls may vary.

 Arrange the slices on a baking sheet or similar, then sprinkle with some salt and pepper.  For roasting, it's important that the dish be shallow and the pieces aren't overlapping.  Also, you can't beat metal cooking sheets for this; glassware just doesn't work right.  While you wait for your oven to heat up, here's a video explaining more in-depth the pitfalls of improper roasting methods.

Sprinkling some of that wondrous powder which makes all vegetables magically good.  ...No, not MSG.

Roasting Time!

 Once the oven has finished pre-heating, just pop the kohlrabi in and wait.  It should be around 40 minutes or so, but since every oven is different, check up on it frequently starting at around a half-hour.

As with all preheated-oven activities, just be careful not to roast your eyes while the door's open.

 When the kohlrabi is done roasting, it should have a decent bit of browning on the surface (don't worry, they're not burnt) and be fork-tender.  Let them cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

They do shrink a bit, so it's always good to make more than you think you'll need.

 Now, roast kohlrabi is tasty enough that it really doesn't need anything to go along with it to make it taste good, but if you're one of those who feels that vegetables in all forms must have something for a dip/sauce, you can't go wrong with mayo as the go-to dip for roasted veggies.  Pair it with some sort of meat (like the weisswurst shown here) and perhaps some rye bread, and you've got yourself a really nice meal!

Neener-neener, my dinner's better than yours.

 If you ever wanted to use something with a cabbage flavor in a recipe where normal cabbage's leafiness is unwelcome, or if you like broccoli stems but they're just too darn small to be practical, or if you just want something different and interesting for your salads, then kohlrabi's just what you've been looking for!