Real African Dishes: [MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Kohlrabi Risotto

* Exported from MasterCook *

Kohlrabi Risotto

Recipe By :Martha Rose Shulman
Serving Size : 5 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : LowFat (Less than 20%)

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 pound kohlrabi -- preferably with some greens attached
7 cups well-seasoned vegetable stock -- to 8 cups
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 garlic cloves -- minced, to 2 cloves (to taste)
Salt and freshly ground pepper -- to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine -- like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese -- to 1/2 cup (1 to 2 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley -- to 3 T.

1. Peel the kohlrabi, making sure to remove the fibrous layer just under
the skin, and cut into 1/2-inch dice. If there are greens attached, wash,
stem and blanch them for 1 minute in salted boiling water. Transfer to a
bowl of cold water, drain, squeeze out water and chop coarsely. Set aside.

2. Put your stock or broth into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over
medium heat, with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Make sure that it is well
seasoned. Turn the heat down to low.

3. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy nonstick skillet
or a wide, heavy saucepan. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, and cook
gently until it is just tender, about 3 minutes. Do not brown. Add the
diced kohlrabi and the garlic and cook, stirring, until the kohlrabi is
crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the rice and stir until the grains separate and begin to crackle.
Add the wine and stir until it has evaporated and been absorbed by the
rice. Begin adding the simmering stock, a couple of ladlefuls (about 1/2
cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice, and should be
bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until
it is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock and
continue to cook in this fashion, adding more stock and stirring when the
rice is almost dry. You do not have to stir constantly, but stir often.
After 15 minutes, stir in the greens from the kohlrabi. When the rice is
just tender all the way through but still chewy, in 20 to 25 minutes, it
is done. Taste now, add pepper and adjust salt.

5. Add another ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir in the Parmesan and the
parsley and remove from the heat. The mixture should be creamy (add more
stock if it isn't). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates,
spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Advance preparation: You can begin up to several hours before serving.
Proceed with the recipe and cook halfway through Step 4 — that is, for
about 15 minutes. The rice should still be hard when you remove it from
the heat, and there should not be any liquid in the pan. Spread it in an
even layer in the pan and keep it away from the heat until you resume
cooking. If the pan is not wide enough for you to spread the rice in a
thin layer, then transfer it to a sheet pan. Fifteen minutes before
serving, bring the remaining stock back to a simmer and reheat the rice.
Resume cooking as instructed.

Nutritional information per serving (4 servings, unsalted broth): 354
calories (13% fat); 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat;
3 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 milligrams cholesterol; 65 grams
carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 207 milligrams sodium (does not
include salt to taste); 12 grams protein

If you receive it in your CSA basket and you've never worked with it
before, you may find the thick-skinned vegetable puzzling, maybe even
daunting. As the nutritionist Jonny Bowden describes it in his book "The
150 Healthiest Foods on Earth," kohlrabi "looks like a cross between an
octopus and a space capsule." That's true, especially if the greens are
still attached. If they're not, it just looks like a space capsule.

Inside its thick skin lies a crisp, juicy vegetable that I like equally
raw or cooked. It's a member of the brassica family, those nutrient-dense
cabbages (as well as kales, brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower)
whose phytochemicals are highly regarded for their antioxidant properties.
Kohlrabi is an excellent source of potassium and a good source of vitamin
C and fiber, and it's low in calories. The purple variety that some
farmers grow also contains anthocyanins, another phytonutrient with
antioxidant potential.

If you can get kohlrabi with the greens attached, cook them as you would
turnip greens or kale. The greens are never quite as copious as the greens
on a bunch of turnips, but they make a nice addition to most kohlrabi
dishes. It's important when you cook with kohlrabi to peel it thoroughly.
Beneath the thick, hard skin is another fibrous layer, which should also
be peeled away. The fibers will not soften when cooked, and they can get
stuck in your throat. So peel once, then peel again until you reach the
light layer of crisp flesh.

Cuisine:
"Italian"
Source:
"Recipes for Health, New York Times, March 5, 2010"
S(Formatted by Chupa Babi):
"March 2012"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 520 Calories; 9g Fat (16.7%
calories from fat); 16g Protein; 89g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 7mg
Cholesterol; 2382mg Sodium. Exchanges: 5 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1
Vegetable; 2 Fat.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 27237 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0