Kohlrabi Carrot Fennel Slaw

This kohlrabi carrot fennel slaw is perfect for summer, when these veggies are plentiful and light meals are in order.

This kohlrabi carrot fennel slaw is quite simple in theory, but highly delicious and nutritious. Plus I find it utilizes two ingredients that we seldom know what to do with: fennel and kohlrabi. Both are some of my favorites to include in my meal planning, almost for the reason that they’re so highly underutilized. I almost want to bring them to the limelight and show them off a bit! Paired with lemon, good olive oil, and peanuts, it’s such a winning combination.

Kohlrabi Slaw and Eating in Season

I start seeing kohlrabi coming in to the farmers markets in early to late summer. For my garden, it’s actually a fall crop, but I imagine some farmers start it in greenhouses before I get to my seedlings (my favorite at the farmers markets around here are Hauser Hill Farms and Jeff’s Organic Produce, in case you are local). Carrots are picked in the summer but are a great fall crop since they store well. Fennel is a fall crop that’s sweet, tastes like licorice, and stores well.

A Mini Veggie Tutorial

Kohlrabi: Kohlrabi is actually a round part of the stem of the plant. This round vegetable often has thick skin (it comes in either green or purple varieties), so you’ll have to peel it. The inside is crispy, juicy, and tastes a little bit like a cross between cauliflower and apple. It works really well in soup, along with the greens (don’t throw those out!), raw, as crudités, slaws such as this, salads, and more. 

Fennel: Fennel is also a growth on the plant towards the ground level. I never thought of it before, but both kohlrabi and fennel behave the same in the plant: they grow into a structure, and from this structure you have leaves or fronds. Sort of interesting to look at it that way. Fennel loves to be paired with lemon, and this is why I use it in this recipe. It’s amazing roasted, braised, broiled, and made into cooked veggies. 

Carrots: Kohlrabi as a mild taste, and fennel is pretty potent. Carrots are sweet and help to round out the dish, help it reach some balance.

Pairing This Kohlrabi Slaw

• Your favorite protein 
• Marinated Mustard Tempeh
• Smoky Chickpeas

Recipe Adjustments

You can easily turn this into a Thai inspired recipe by: using lime instead of lemon and adding cilantro.

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