Kohlrabi & Tomato

This recipe is from The Cooks Garden - a wonderful NZ book that describes how to grow and use a wide range of vegetables. The book, and it's follow up, More From the Cook's Garden, are out of print, but well worth looking for in op shops and second hand book stores. 

Kohlrabi is a member of the brassica family - popular in Europe but relatively little-known here. The plant forms a fat globe at it's base, and this is the part you eat - if picked young and tender, the skin may be kept on, but otherwise it gets a bit tough and needs to be peeled. They come in green and purple varieties. Here's one in my garden this summer: 

Ordinarily, I never bother to peel tomatoes - a great deal of the phytonutrients are in the skin, and who can be bothered anyway? But for this recipe, it's worth the effort, as the result is a very creamy mixture. 

Ingredients:
4-500g prepared kohlrabi - remove leaves but snapping off, cut off the top and bottom, peel well, then cut in quarters and slice thinly. 
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
2 TBSP cooking oil (I use coconut)
3-4 medium sized tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp chopped basil

Method:
Saute onion and garlic in oil for a few minutes. Add kohlrabi, tomatoes and seasoning. Simmer for 10-20 mins (uncovered) until kohlrabi is tender and tomatoes have cooked down into a creamy sauce. Add basil and serve. 

This was especially nice with some cooked chicken mixed into it (an accidental discovery as I served it with some left over cooked chicken) - next time I might purposely add it. 

I thought this dish was absolutely delicious! But I grew the ingredients, and approached it with limited expectations, which it far exceeded. Plus I was breathing in the smell of the fresh veges and herbs as I prepared it. My husband thought it was ok. Next time I'll tell him it's average and make him smell basil before eating it. No doubt he will then be smitten. ;-) 

I used a combo of cinnamon and green basil, though any will do.

PS - this recipe inspired me to experiment with the same concept - a couple of days later, I made myself lunch by sauteing onion and carrots, adding chopped up left over roast new potatoes and left over cooked broccoli, and simmering in tomato etc as above. YUM!