kohl rabi

I love Kohl Rabi but it’s not often found in vegetable gardens or supermarkets in the UK.  The edible part is the globe shaped stem base so it is able to grow well in shallow soil.  Strangely it belongs to the same root-forming brassica family as turnips and swedes which would most likely fail under the same conditions.  My kohl rabi plants were another kindly donation from an allotment neighbour called Dave and they’ve thrived in the hot dry weather.  

And the taste?  Slightly nutty, a bit like the stalk part of a cauliflower.  I eat it raw as boiling it is the quickest way of ruining a perfectly lovely salad vegetable (judging by how easy it is to cook most brassicas badly).