Pinterest Meets the CSA Box

This week’s CSA box had some lovely prizes…more red leaf lettuce (absolutely beautiful) and a big bag of mesculin salad mix, three small heads of broccoli, a bunch of Swiss chard, two bunches of kale, three kohlrabi, a small bunch of beets (disappointing – was so hoping for better in this department), garlic scapes, and Napa cabbage.

We found a few folks at church to share the bounty so Super Sister didn’t have to be buried under more greens – we handed over the broccoli to her, though, and some garlic scapes. No pics of the goods, sorry – it was raining when we picked up and shared, so by the time we got home I was over it.

Wednesday evening, however, I guinea-pigged a recipe on some dinner guests that included that strange and bizarre kohlrabi thing that came in this week’s CSA box. After Googling “what the hell is kohlrabi?” the Fab Hub actually found a link to an old Huffington Post series that called itself “WTF, CSA?” Perfect.

We ended up with the following appetizer recipe which was a hit with everyone at the table. It was so good, it may make a second appearance at our open house party this weekend.

Fresh Mozzarella and Roasted Kohlrabi Crostini with Crispy Lemons and Shallots

Serves 6-12, depending on how hungry your guests are (So says the original recipe post. However. We used only one kohlrabi, not 2-3 as indicated, and I put out 18 baguette rounds. That disappeared between four adults and one Kidzilla.)

• 2-3 medium kohlrabi, stems, leaves, and fibrous root ends removed
• extra virgin olive oil, for rubbing
• 1/2 sourdough baguette, sliced into 12 1/2″ rounds (we used 18)

Rub the kohlrabi generously with olive oil, wrap tightly in foil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork. Let cool. (Our kohlrabi took 50 minutes until it was right)

Lay baguette slices on a baking sheet and toast until they reach a light golden brown, flip and toast other side. (Oops…only toasted one side. Whatever works.)

• 1 lemon, cut into 1/8″ slices
• 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar for dredging
• 2 shallots, sliced thinly
• olive oil for frying
• toasted crostini rounds
• 1 large garlic clove, for rubbing (ended up using two)
• 8 leaves fresh basil
• 8 leaves fresh rosemary
• 4 sprigs fresh parsley, stems removed
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• pinch of sea salt (We used fleur de sel – awesome. The gritty texture made a huge difference.)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil for forming paste, plus more for drizzling
• 12 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced thinly lengthwise
• 2-3 roasted kohlrabi, sliced 1/4″ thick (We used one. I sliced the bulb in half, then sliced the halves into the slices because that matched the size of the baguettes. It was exactly enough.)
• 8 ounces ball fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4″ thick rounds

This is the kohlrabi post-roasting, not the mozzarella. If your mozzarella looks like this, you’re doing it wrong.

Look at me, all mise en place.

1. Dredge lemon slices in sugar, then fry in hot olive oil until golden brown, about 45 seconds per side. Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel. Sauté shallots in olive oil, stirring often until crispy and golden, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel. (We used the same oil for the shallots that we did for the lemon slices. If you do this, the shallots WILL stick together AND stick to the paper towel. Just saying.)
2. Rub crostini rounds with garlic clove.
3. Chop herbs finely with a pinch of sea salt and add olive oil to form a paste. Spread paste on garlic-rubbed crostini rounds. (I chopped, pinched, and then tossed it all into my mortar and pestle. Was it correct? Dunno. Was it delicious? Yes.)
4. Place olives and sliced, roasted kohlrabi on top of herbed crostini rounds and top with fresh mozzarella rounds.
5. Place crostini under broiler until mozzarella is golden and bubbling. Remove from broiler.
6. Top each mozzarella round with one crispy lemon slice and crispy shallots. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately. (Hmm…forgot to drizzle with olive oil. Nobody seemed to notice.)

The verdict? These are awesome. This was a Pinterest success story.

The Fab Hub ate them – he has been so good about trying new and strange vegetables. He pronounced them “good” and said he would eat them again but would like the lemon thinner and crispier. He did not care for the “rindiness” of the slices. Admittedly, my slices were not one-eighth of an inch and they did not get terribly brown and crispy. I was too impatient and also worried that I would burn them if I went more than precisely 45 seconds.

Kidzilla loved them – she ate about three all by her little gourmet self. The dinner guests could not stop raving and ate more than their fair share.

The moral of the story, friends, is when you have no idea what to do with the bizarre-looking vegetable in your CSA box, figure out what it is first. Once you know what you’re dealing with, hit Pinterest for an idea and go for it.

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