Since I was young, my mother occasionally cooked stir fries and added some sliced pieces of “vegetable fruit” in the dish. It sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, right? I mean, how can something be a vegetable and a fruit at the same time? I suppose some people may argue that tomatoes are both a vegetable and a fruit, but I don’t know where I stand in the debate.
For the longest time, I never knew the English word for this “vegetable fruit.” Come to think of it, there are still many varieties of vegetables and fish that I only know how to say in Cantonese. Isn’t that funny?
It wasn’t until I was taking a stroll in a farmers market when I saw those funny green globes with stems growing out of it and realized, “vegetable fruits” = kohlrabi! Well, I didn’t know how to pronounce the word the first time I saw it, mind you, but I got around to that eventually.
If you remember my post on radish greens, you’ll know that I try to be resourceful with the vegetables I get at the farmers market. Often times, bunches of beets are sold with their greens attached, and I often get the question from family and friends about how to prepare beet greens. My default answer is always to treat beet greens like swiss chard. Anything you can think to include swiss chard in, beet greens should work also. For this dish, I decided to use the greens from a handsome bunch of beets, chopped it up, and mixed it into the risotto for an extra dose of vegetables.
Sweet Potato & Kohlrabi Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 very large sweet potato, ~21oz/600g
- 2 medium kohlrabi, 15.5oz/430g
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1/4 cup 60ml dry white wine (Pinot gris, Pinot grigio, or Sauvignon blanc works well)
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 10.5 oz/300g beet greens, rinsed
- 4 oz/115g mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
- 6 large basil leaves, chopped
- 1/2 cup (56g) shredded mozzarella cheese (or substitute with vegan cheese)
- 1/2 cup (56g) shredded parmesan cheese (or substitute with vegan cheese)
- freshly ground pepper, optional
Instructions
- Peel the sweet potato and chop into small cubes. Pulse the sweet potato in a food processor until it turns into tiny bits (just like rice). Pour the chopped bits into a medium bowl.
- Peel the tough exterior of the kohlrabi and chop it into small cubes. Pulse the kohlrabi in the food processor until it turns into tiny bits as well.
- Cut off the stems from the beet greens, and chop the stems and the leaves separately. I like to separate the leaves from the stems because I cook the stems longer.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the onions and stir until the they start to turn translucent. Add the garlic and stir for a minute.
- Add in the sweet potatoes and kohlrabi “rice” into the skillet. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes and add the white wine. Once the wine starts absorbing, add the vegetable stock and salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and stir in the stalks of the beet greens.
- When the stock starts to boil, stir in the beet green leaves, mushrooms, and chopped basil. Let everything cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until the beet greens start to wilt, and the mushrooms have shrunken.
- Turn off the heat and mix in the shredded cheeses. Serve with some ground pepper.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an air-tight container.
Lauren says
Yum, and delicious sounding combination! I really like kohlrabi but I don’t have many ways to use it. Definitely adding this to my to-make list.
Lisa says
Thanks, Lauren! Let me know how this goes for you!
Angie (@angiesrecipess) says
DELISH and being a fan of sweet potato, this is definitely a must try for me. Thanks for sharing, Lisa.
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living says
Love how creative this grain-free risotto is using kohlrabi! I haven’t cooked much with kohlrabi so I’m so glad to see a new way of serving it.
Joanne says
THat’s so funny! I’m not sure I would describe kohlrabi as a vegetable fruit…but I bet it sure is delicious in this risotto!
Cassie says
I saw a kohlrabi at the store and didn’t buy it… now I’m kicking myself. I’ve never had one, unless it was in a dish in Asia and I didn’t know??
Lisa says
I think kohlrabi is more common in southern Chinese cooking, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t see it around in Asia!
The Squishy Monster says
What a lovely dish, I love the idea of it being plant based =)
Lisa says
Thanks!!
Amber Schooley says
This sounds delicious, but I’m allergic to milk. For taste I sometimes add nutritional yeast instead of parmesan, but this is low in protein and fat without it. Any suggestions of something else I could use for it? Would some type of nuts or seeds work?
On a side note, I originally found out about kohlrabi when I was looking at recipes for my spiralizer. Now I’m growing it in my own vegetable garden. I don’t bother with kale anymore because I can use the kohlrabi leaves the same way.
Lisa Lin says
I cook with kohlrabi leaves, too! I’m actually coming up with another kohlrabi recipe soon. For the extra protein, I think toasted pine nuts are a great option. However, they can be a bit pricey. Another alternative could be toasted sliced almonds or even walnuts!
Amber Schooley says
This came out really great, especially considering how much I changed it! I used my spiralizer scraps including sweet potato, kohlrabi, zuchini and carrots, and even a little regular potato to make the “rice”. I didn’t have wine so I wound up using apple cider vinegar. I used young chard for the beet greens (pretty much the same thing). I also left out the mushrooms and the cheese, and added almonds and nutritional yeast. I also tossed in a green tomato as almost an afterthought. Plus a little fresh parsley. I think it might have been better if I had used lime juice (from our lime tree) instead of the vinegar, but it’s still delicious!
Lisa Lin says
Amber, thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out! I’m so glad you were able to adapt the recipe to your taste. I like the additions you made!
Deb Lee says
Yes! I love this recipe. One day I was at the end of a farmers market and bought sweet potato and kohlrabi. When I got home I wondered what I could do with these 2 ingredients. Thank goodness for this recipe. The total is so much better than just the sum of its parts. I think I cooked the S.P. and K. a little too long, for it kind of turned to mush when I reheated it, but it was still absolutely delicious! Thank you.
Lisa Lin says
Thanks for trying this recipe, Deb!