Kohlrabi Gratin

Farm box + New Food Processor = Kohlrabi Gratin.

It's been an exciting food week over here. We received the first of our weekly, organic, local farm vegetable boxes from Märkische Kiste. A kind of cross between a CSA farm share (which I had been desperately missing this summer) and an organic food delivery service, we get a box of seasonal vegetables delivered weekly for around 12 euros. Not too shabby. (Thanks to A Finn in Berlin for the tip!) This was this week's box:

A Lot of very fresh, tender Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Garlic, gnarly Carrots, fresh Chives, and the trinity of alien vegetables: Kohlrabi, Fennel, and Celeriac. I am fascinated by alien vegetables. So strange looking; so unintuitive. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but one thing was clear . . . I was going to need a food processor.

As I've mentioned, our furnished apartment has zero measuring utensils, sparse cookware, and countertops sized for giants. Giants who do not cook. So, I wasn't surprised at the lack of a food processor, but I was surprised to discover just how often I seem to need one. Like, nearly every day. Bread crumbs? Food Processor. Dough? Food Processor? Grated Cheese? Food Processor. Pesto? Food Processor. Hummus? Food Processor. You get the idea. And so it came to pass that LCBF bought me one for our anniversary. Romantic! I broke it in tonight by whipping up a Kohlrabi Gratin. Kohlrabi is very big in Germany, but less so in the States. LCBF thinks it tastes like cabbage, but I think it tastes exactly like broccoli stems. It's tasty raw or cooked. Recipe after the jump.
 Kohlrabi Gratin
1-2 small Kohlrabies (or 1 medium--smaller ones are more tender)
2 Carrots
2 small Potatoes
Breadcrumbs (about 1 1/2 cups)
White Cheddar and Parmesan cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2-2 cups combined)
1 cup Soy Milk, warmed
2-4 tbl. butter
2 tbl. flour
salt & pepper

Step One: Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Make bread crumbs (if you haven't bought them), by placing chunks of slightly stale bread in the bowl of a food processor and pulsing until you have uniform crumbs. Butter baking dish with 1-2 tbl. butter and sprinkle some bread crumbs over the bottom of the dish.

Step Two: Prepare vegetables by washing and peeling. Cut the woody base and leafy tops off the kohlrabi (you can save the leafy bits and eat like spinach, if they're fresh). Peel with a paring knife until no veins are visible. Peel carrots and potatoes. Slice all vegetables thinly with either a food processor or mandolin (or a lot of patience). Parboil vegetables for about 7 min., or until just tender. Drain and set aside.

Step Three: As vegetables are boiling, make a mornay sauce: melt 2 tbl. of butter in a pan then wisk in 2 tbl. of butter to make a roux. Cook for a few minutes and allow to brown slightly. Slowly wisk in 1 cup of warm soy milk to make a béchamel sauce. Wisk continuously over low-med heat until the sauce thickens. Stir in the cheese until it melts. Voila! Mornay sauce.

Step Four: Place parboiled vegetables in a large bowl and pour mornay sauce over top. Add salt & pepper and stir everything together. Pour mixture into baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350F/180C for 30-45 min. When the bread crumbs are browned and the cheese is bubbly, it's done.

LCBF and I managed to polish this off in one sitting. It was delicious! Like slightly healthier baked mac & cheese. LCBF found it hearty and filling. One alien vegetable down, two to go . . .