Winter Vegetables
17 November 2009
I have recently discovered a new favourite fruit and vegetable stand at Munich’s Viktualienmarkt. Most of what "Gut zum Leben" have on offer comes from their own farmland, and quality and taste of their produce are superb. But, as it is all grown naturally, their choice of vegetables strongly varies by season. So their funnily crooked but wonderfully aromatic cucumbers have been gone for a while, last week I bought the last bunch of their lovely little aubergines, and their garden tomatoes (hard to find tomatoes THAT tasty…) will soon be out of season, too.
I can't say I am overly obsessed with buying only local and seasonal vegetables, as there are certain basic things I don’t really want to make do without; once the local tomatoes have run out, I will continue buying Mediterranean ones over the winter, just to name an example. I also don’t deny that I like buying kiwis and mangos from time to time, and they are kind of hard to grow in the alpine region. But whenever I have the choice, I really appreciate the local stuff, not only because of environmental reasons (isn't it absurd to fly in apples from Newzealand if we have plenty of them at our doorstep...?), but also because it often means superior quality (why buy a bland tomato that has been harvested green so it survives the transport all the way from Egypt or wherever?).
And apart from those few basics I use all year, I really find it exciting to see the change of seasons reflected in my shopping and cooking. Last week "my" shop was advertising their giant kohlrabis as a typical winter vegetable. When they handed me a sample of the raw root I was reluctant to try, thinking that uncooked kohlrabi must be pretty insipid. I tried anyway and was amazed to see that THIS one was tasty even like that. I had been totally unaware that there can be such differences in a root vegetable like kohlrabi… This is definitely going to be a regular guest in my kitchen this winter!
Anyway, here is what I did with my kohlrabi last Sunday. I admit, the leftover aubergines I added are not all that seasonal (yet they were a pretty good match…). The shiitake mushrooms (which, to my delight, are also grown locally and sold at my stand), the coconut milk and the curry gave a nice exotic hint. I stewed it all into a nice, thick, wintery vegetable sauce.
This is one of those dishes that are really hard to take an appealing picture of; but I assure you it tastes much better than it looks…
Kohlrabi-Coconut Milk Pasta Sauce
| serves 6 |
| 2 kohlrabi normal-sized roots |
| 2 smallish aubergines |
| 300g shiitake mushrooms |
| 400ml puréed tomatoes |
| 100ml soy sauce |
| 2 teaspoons fine white sugar |
| 200ml coconut milk |
| 2 teaspoons curry |
| 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds |
| some garlic powder |
| some dried basil |
| a slice of butter |
to go with |
| farfalle (or similar pasta) |
In a saucepan, mix the puréed tomatoes and the soy sauce, stir in 2 teaspoons of fine white sugar and bring to a light boil.
Peel the kohlrabi roots and julienne them (i.e. shred into long, fine strips). Salt very slightly and let soften a bit, then add to the tomato mixture. Pour in the coconut milk and season with some curry (milder or spicier, to your taste). Cover with a lid and let simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
Dice the aubergine and very slightly salt; clean the shiitake mushrooms and finely slice them. Add to the saucepan, close the lid again and let simmer for another 10 minutes. Season to taste with a little bit of granulated garlic as well as some dried basil, and add the toasted sesame seeds. Finally stir in a slice of butter to give the sauce a silky finish.
Don’t forget to cook the pasta in the meantime!