Young Broccoli and Kohlrabi

Isn’t that lovely? It was in my CSA share. When you see broccoli this young, you remember that it is a flower. I was half tempted to tie a ribbon around the stems to make a nosegay!

But – cooking it, now… It was so slender and tender I didn’t want to steam it. I usually don’t like cooking broccoli with dry heat, as I find the outside is overcooked to my taste while the stalk is still tough, but this could be sauteed. There wasn’t enough of it for a meal, though, so what could I add? Well, I had equally young and tender kohlrabi. I’d been planning to use it in salad, but decided I could spare one bulb – and a scallion – for this.

I washed and trimmed all the vegetables – remember that kohlrabi must be peeled fairly deeply to remove a thick fibrous skin. (You can easily see the part that needs peeling.) Then I cut them up – slices for the scallion, and small cubes for the kohlrabi. I kept the broccoli florets intact, and cut the stems.

Meanwhile, I set a cast iron pan on medium heat. I wanted the pan to heat evenly, and be hot enough to slightly sear the vegetables, but not burn them. Once it was hot, and the vegetables were cut, I added a little oil, and a dab of chili garlic paste (which you may omit, if you don’t want the heat.) I rapidly stirred the chili around in the oil – and the pan was hot enough that I did get some fumes from it! – then added the vegetables. I continued stirring rapidly for a minute, to coat the vegetables with the flavored oil, then spread them out evenly on the pan and let them rest. I lowered the heat just slightly – low medium, about where I’d keep a pot of soup on a rapid simmer. I wanted to slightly sear the vegetables, but not to let them actually burn.

After about two minutes, I stirred the vegetables again, to bring the other sides into contact with the pan. Again, I let it rest about two minutes, then stirred – continue with that process until they are cooked to your taste. I chose a tender crisp, so they were done at this point – probably about five minutes in all.

It turns out that broccoli and kohlrabi taste delicious together – I’ll have to try the combination, though probably a different technique, next winter! The chili added almost an aftertaste of heat – not obvious in the first bite, but a bloom of flavor. And I never would have put this combination together if I’d had enough broccoli for both of us – I love the serendipity of the CSA!