Recipe: Chef Michael Anthony Does Kohlrabi Two Ways

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Michael Anthony - Kohrabi Prep
Executive chef/partner of Gramercy Tavern and Untitled, Michael Anthony preps kohlrabi. ( V is for Vegetables images courtesy Little, Brown and Company. Photo by Maura McEvoy)(The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

Chef Michael Anthony
Chef Michael Anthony (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

This year’s recipient of the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef, executive chef/partner of Gramercy Tavern and the executive chef and director of Untitled at The WhitneyMichael Anthony has just published his second book.

The appropriately titled,V is for Vegetables, is an all-purpose guide with tips on how to properly select and prepare seasonal produce, with recipes for composed salads, fresh herb sauces, hearty gratins, vibrant vegetable stews and more.

One of his favorite vegetables is the under-appreciated kohlrabi, which is just hitting the markets now. You’ll want to look for ones that are no bigger than baseballs, which will be less fibrous. Kohlrabi have tender hearts and are really just soft stems “whose spiky offshoots are merely the ribs of leaves, easily removed with a pairing knife.”

Chef Michael shares two kohlrabi recipes with us: a Crunchy Salad of Kohlrabi and Toasted Walnuts and Roasted, Quartered Kohlrabi. Peel them first to reveal their snowy, white interiors, which have no bitterness. Sweet and crunchy when sliced and eaten raw, they brown nicely when roasted.

Michael Anthony’s Crunchy Salad of Kohlrabi & Toasted Walnuts