Episode 8: Kohlrabi: Turnip for What? (with Antoni Porowski)
What is kohlrabi and what do we do with it? Plus, Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski (@antoni) talks to us about pierogi, and more!
For a transcript of this episode, click here.
Food ideas discussed in this episode:
Sabudana Khichdi
Here’s Samin’s column and adaptation of Hrishi’s family recipe
Chole a la Hirway
Heat oil. Add mustard seeds, fennel seeds, whole chili peppers, and dried chili peppers. Heat until they sizzle, then add onions along with powdered spices such as cumin, cayenne and coriander. Add garlic and ginger. Then add canned chickpeas and canned crushed tomatoes and simmer until done. Eat with rice, yogurt, and mango pickle.
Guacachole
Combine Hrishi’s chole with guacamole!
Salsa verde
Char tomatillos on a hot griddle until the outside is dark. Blend with hot green chiles and cilantro. Here’s a recipe from the wonderful Pati Jinich to try out!
Guacamole Salsa
Blend ripe avocado with tomatillos.
Green mole
Char onions and tomatillos. Blend with epazote and chicken stock. Add cooked chicken (or other food of your choice) and simmer till done. Or, follow this recipe for what appears an actual, authentic version of the dish instead of Samin’s nonsense!
Other uses for tomatillos
grilling or charring those tomatillos to add to a braise of meat
Cooking and making relish to spoon over fish
dropping into a pot of simmering chicken legs to add acid
Kohlrabi slaw
Slice kohlrabi and apples into matchsticks and toss together with a little chili powder, apple cider vinegar, herbs, olive oil, salt, and grated ginger.
Banh mi topping
Pickle some chopped kohlrabi and carrots and use as a topping for banh mi.
Breaded squash
Coat pieces of squash in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Cook in the oven on a well-oiled baking sheet. Or sheesh, these look good!
Squash Gratin
Slice squash thinly. Layer slices with cheese and cream, or cheese and a mixture of cream and stock. Top with breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven until brown and bubbly and delicious.
Squash tempura(ish) [ link ]
Fill a deep (at least 6 inches) pot with 2-3 inches of oil (not more). Heat to approximately 360 degrees fahrenheit. Oil will expand as it heats. You could also use an air fryer. Mix a little bit of ice with flour, salt, balking powder, and a fizzy liquid (seltzer/beer). A little vodka also helps. Keeping everything ice cold, mix until a lumpy batter forms (do not overmix). Dip pieces of zucchini or squash into the batter. Place them in the oil and cook until golden on one side. Flip it and let it get golden on the other side. Pull it out with a slotted spoon and drain it on a paper towel-lined cookie sheet or cooling rack. Sprinkle with salt and eat right away with a condiment of your choice.
Double chocolate zucchini bread
From Shauna Sever’s Midwest Made
Turkey zucchini burgers [ link ]
Roasted squash salad
Roast a winter squash and cube it. Macerate red onion with red wine vinegar. Add a little bit of red pepper flakes, an herb of your choice, and some sugar or honey to taste. Toss with cubed squash.
Steak cooked in butter [ link ]
Use a piece of filet mignon an inch and a half thick. At least half an hour in advance, season it generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Get a clean, very seasoned cast-iron pan very, very hot. Put a generous amount of butter in the pan. Place steak in hot pan and do not move until a crust forms. Then slide the steak around in the butter so it browns evenly. Use a spoon to baste constantly in butter. Flip and do the same thing on the other side. Turn on its edge to get a crust on the side. Let rest in a warm spot for 10 minutes before slicing.
Slow-roasted salmon [ link ]
Heat the oven or toaster oven to 225-250 Fahrenheit. Make a bed of fig leaves, herbs, or citrus slices in a baking pan. You could also use a piece of parchment. Lay the salmon skin side down. Remove bones with needle-nose pliers or tweezers (can be done before or after cooking). Season lightly with salt. Drizzle very lightly with olive oil and rub the olive oil in, then stick it into the oven and cook it until the meat is just translucent and just barely flakes apart when you prick it with a fork or with your fingers.
Pierogi leniwe (“lazy pierogi”) [ link ]
(Or test your polish on the Kwestia Smaku version)
Michelle Polzine’s pierogi
Here’s the recipe! And pre-order her book here!
Antoni’s perfect soft scramble
Mix eggs with one teaspoon of water for every two eggs. Scramble in a pan with chopsticks. Serve with Jacobsen Black Garlic Salt and fresh cracked pepper. Also watch this video.
Homemade mayonnaise [ link ]
You’ll need one egg yolk and some oil, such as canola, avocado, rice bran or olive. Whisk the oil into the yolk one drop at a time. You can whisk by hand or use a mixer or a blender or a food processor. Keep going until it’s mayonnaise.
All-you-can-eat salad
Go to your favorite buffet place, preferably for your 6th grade birthday party. Don’t forget the soft serve for dessert.
Illustration by Mamie Rheingold