Are you watching Making a Murderer?  If you want to feel uncontrollable anger toward the Wisconsin Department of Justice and residual exhaustion from the unavoidable lack of sleep, dive right in to this epic Netflix series.  

Somewhere around episode eight (don’t worry – no spoilers here), Steven Avery’s dad takes viewers on a tour of his impressive gardens.  He’s growing quite the array of fruits and vegetables, including kohlrabi.  He says it’s pretty good as is – just slice it thin and sprinkle it with a bit of salt.  Easy enough!

Lo and behold, what did I find at the winter session of the Long Beach farmer’s market yesterday?  Kohlrabi!  Not just kohlrabi, but purple kohlrabi.  They were the perfect size – just a bit larger than my fist.  I thought of the senior Avery and scooped them up immediately.  

Kohlrabi may look like a root vegetable, but it’s actually a member of the cabbage (brassicae) family.  This purple variety was surprisingly mild and a just a bit peppery.  Some describe its flavor as the midpoint between a turnip and a radish.  

Color is noticeably absent from this salad and – surprise – it’s still packed with nutrients.  So, when someone advises you to avoid white foods, take that little nutrition nugget with a grain of salt.  Many fruits and vegetables are void of hue and still very much worth munching on.  Enjoy your food, enjoy your life!

Kohlrabi and Apple Slaw

Special equipment: Paderno spiralizer or box grater; Microplane

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized purple kohlrabi
2 medium apples (I used Honeycrisp)
1 lemon
1 inch piece of gingerroot
2 T. olive oil (I used Trader Joe’s Tunisian)
generous pinch of flaky salt

Preparation:

Using chipper blade of spiralizer or box grater, shred kohlrabi and apples and transfer into large glass bowl.  There’s no need to peel – get that extra fiber!

Use Microplane to zest lemon over the kohlrabi and apple mixture.  Do the same with the gingerroot.  Juice lemon, and add to bowl along with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and mix to combine.  Clean hands are the best tools for the task.  Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator, tightly covered, up to three days.  

Serves 4.