I glanced up at the cerulean, sunny sky and rejoiced in my last precious day in Israel. Then I bent down to pluck another kohlrabi from the ground, twisting, pulling, and removing the roots and leaves, before depositing it in the bucket at my feet. As part of our volunteer work mission in Israel, our group assignment on this cloudless day was to harvest two (very) long rows of kohlrabi for Leket, a food rescue organization, on a farm in Rishon LeZion.
Crunchy Slaw with Creamy Sesame Dressing
Leket Israel was founded by Joseph Gitler in 2003, after witnessing significant food wastage in Israel at a time of rising poverty. In 2023 Leket enabled:
• The rescue and purchase of 32,127 metric tons (70.84 million lbs.) of fresh produce from 704 farms and packing houses
• The rescue and purchase of 2.3 million hot meals from 126 suppliers
The food rescued by Leket Israel is distributed to 296 nonprofit organizations, including homeless shelters, soup kitchens, elderly centers, battered women’s centers, community help organizations, and schools for at-risk youth. These nonprofit partners serve the food to approximately 270,000 Israelis in need every week, regardless of age, gender, religion, or ethnic background. And now because of the war, this distribution has increased to meet the needs of 330,000 people a week including evacuees who are housed in hotels and other temporary housing. Leket is also supporting farmers and businesses at risk because of the upheaval since October 07. I was proud to play a small part in the important work of this very vital organization.
Kohlrabi is a funny-looking vegetable about the size and shape of a grapefruit, with antenna-like leafy stems sticking out. It has thick skin that can range from pale green to purple, though the inside is always a very pale yellow. Kohlrabi tastes like a peppery version of the insides of a broccoli stem. It has the sweetness of the broccoli with a bit of the piquant flavor of turnips or radishes. Kohlrabi was a new vegetable for many of the harvesters I worked with at Leket and my adaptation of this recipe for Crunchy Slaw with Creamy Sesame Dressing by culinary virtuoso Adeena Sussman, published in her latest cookbook, Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours, is a friendly way to introduce the unique taste of this vegetable to newbies.
Chickpeas: I roasted the chickpeas and use them in the salad, adding zippy flavor and crunch. This recipe for Crispy Spiced Chickpeas is from Scheckeats Cooking Smarter by Jeremy Scheck. Preheat the oven to 375 F. and line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Add the drained chickpeas to the prepared pan and drizzle with olive oil. Combine the spices and sprinkle over the chickpeas. Mix with your hands until the oil and seasonings are uniformly distributed over the chickpeas. Spread the chickpeas evenly over the surface of the pan and bake for 25 minutes. Set the chickpeas aside and allow them to cool completely.
Crunchy Slaw: If not using pre-shredded cabbage, slice the cabbage into thin shreds. Add to a large salad bowl. Add the shredded carrot. Using a sharp peeler, remove the outer layer of skin from the kohlrabi. Cut it into rounds that are 1/4-inch thick. Stack the rounds and cut the kohlrabi into matchstick-sized pieces. Add to the salad bowl. Chop the white part of the scallions and add to the vegetable mixture. Add a generous handful of the reserved roasted chickpeas (extras can be stored in a resealable container in the refrigerator), dried pineapple or mango bits, and chopped fresh parsley.
Salad Dressing: In a jar with a tight fitting lid combine the tahini, soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, grated garlic (or frozen garlic cubes), grated fresh ginger (or frozen ginger cube), toasted sesame oil, Harissa or other hot sauce of your choice, and miso paste (optional, but recommended). Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.
Crunchy Slaw with Creamy Sesame Dressing
Salad that packs serious crunch into every bite with the addition of cabbage, carrots, kohlrabi, and toasted chickpeas, embraced with an Middle Eastern-Asian fusion dressing.
Ingredients
- Crispy spiced chickpeas
- 2 (19-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2-2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used Aleppo pepper flakes)
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Crunchy Slaw
- 4 scallions (white parts only), chopped
- 1 medium kohlrabi
- 3 cups thinly shredded cabbage, from a 6 oz. piece of cabbage (bagged cabbage is fine)
- 3 cups thinly shredded purple cabbage, from a 6 oz. piece of cabbage (bagged cabbage is fine)
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 1/4 cup chopped dried mango or pineapple
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Sesame Tahini Dressing
- 4 tablespoons tahini paste
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, microplaned or finely minced (3 frozen garlic cubes may be substituted)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated (1 frozen ginger cube may be substituted)
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Harissa or other hot sauce of your choice
- 2 teaspoons white miso paste (optional but recommended)
Instructions
Roasted Chickpeas
Preheat the oven to 375 F. and line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Add the drained chickpeas to the prepared pan and drizzle with olive oil. Combine the spices and sprinkle over the chickpeas. Mix with your hands until the oil and seasonings are uniformly distributed over the chickpeas. Spread the chickpeas evenly over the surface of the pan and bake for 25 minutes. Set the chickpeas aside and allow them to cool completely.
Crunchy Slaw
If not using pre-shredded cabbage, slice the cabbage into thin shreds. Add to a large salad bowl. Add the shredded carrot. Using a sharp peeler, remove the outer layer of skin from the kohlrabi. Cut it into rounds that are 1/4-inch thick. Stack the rounds and cut the kohlrabi into matchstick-sized pieces. Add to the salad bowl. Chop the white part of the scallions and add to the vegetable mixture. Add a generous handful of the reserved roasted chickpeas (extras can be stored in a resealable container in the refrigerator), dried pineapple or mango bits, and chopped fresh parsley.
Salad Dressing
In a jar with a tight fitting lid combine the tahini, soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, grated garlic (or frozen garlic cubes), grated fresh ginger (or frozen ginger cube), toasted sesame oil, Harissa or other hot sauce of your choice, and miso paste (optional, but recommended). Cover and shake until creamy. If the dressing is too thick, it can be loosened with boiling water, added 1 tablespoon at a time. The dressing can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a week. Pour the dressing over the salad before serving and toss to coat .
No Comments