Farewell dear, sweet corn. Goodbye bright melon salads, see you next year. And don’t think I have forgotten about you smooth, seedy summer squash. I’ll pick you all up next June, when the weather’s warm, and tank tops beckon my shoulders out into the sunshine. For now, there are new foods churning their way into my psyche. I mean, it is October for heaven’s sake!
The weakening sun hides behind the ever-burgeoning clouds, and it’s warm one moment, cool the next. I leave the apartment with a light jacket and scarf-mina (one part scarf, the other part pashmina) firmly affixed round my neck one moment, only to remove the jacket, and blot the perspiration from my brow with said scarf-mina, the next. This of course, translates into stomach confusion for my appetite– a salad…no, a stew…no, a salad.
Well, what about a hearty salad, how does that sound to a fall appetite? A fall salad sounds quite alright, especially one with roasted beets, kohlrabi, and a hint of salty blue cheese.
I had seen kohlrabi many times before at the market, and always up for exploring the world of new veggies, I brought a small pile home with me. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this knobby little vegetable it’s a member of the cabbage family, and grows just about anywhere. It can be eaten raw, or eaten roasted, or cooked in a variety of ways. I peeled my kohlrabi, and crunched away. I chewed. And chewed. And then I decided to roast it. With a mild flavor, a bit like jicama crossed with a tart, green apple (although some people say it reminds them of eating broccoli stems), I thought this would be the perfect roasting vegetable.
I sliced the kohlrabi, tossing it in olive oil and giving it a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Then I set the slices to roast for 40 minutes at 425 degrees. I also roasted the beets in foil packets for a bit longer, at the same temperature. Removing the roasted veg from the oven, I cooled them to room temperature. Then I set to work assembling the salad: peppery arugula, creamy and salty blue cheese crumbles, and of course the roasted beets and kohlrabi. Dressed in a simple balsamic-Dijon vinaigrette, this salad was the perfect autumnal feast. Try it yourself wrapped in a scarf-mina, jacket on the side.
