Those who don’t like meat or want to eat less meat appreciate good alternatives. We are no fans of processed meat substitutes from the supermarket, most of which are just as unsustainable as the meat they are supposed to replace. Not to mention quality and taste. Kohlrabi sounds mundane at first. But hopefully, like us, you will be thrilled at how delicious this vegetarian schnitzel variant tastes.
The preparation is not complicated. First, peel and cut the kohlrabi. Remove the ends of the bulb, especially as they tend to get a bit woody with larger specimen.
Peel the kohlrabi in strips from top to bottom while the bulb is lying safely on the board.
Cut the kohlrabi into slices about one centimetre thick. Now place the slices in lightly salted water with a little lemon juice. This will keep them juicy and the breading will stick better later.
We prepare three flat plates for the breading. On the first plate we put some potato starch, which also ensures that everything adheres well.
We are breading the schnitzels classically, so with egg, which we beat in a second plate with a fork and lightly salt and pepper. If you want to eat vegan, you may instead mix a thick cream of soy milk, flour and mustard instead of egg at this point.
The third plate is where the crunchy element comes into play. We love panko, the ultra-light and crispy breadcrumbs from Japan that you can now buy in many supermarkets. The breading will be even more delicious if you mix in some grated Parmigiano Reggiano. You can also use “normal” bread crumbs or crumbled cornflakes and mix with some sesame seeds, oat flakes or finely chopped nuts.
While you heat some vegetable oil in the frying pan, the slices are first coated with some starch, then dipped into either the beaten egg or soy milk mixture, and then carefully covered with the crunchy component of your breading. Since kohlrabi are very firm, you may need to support the process a bit with a spoon, applying some pressure.
Now fry very slowly over only medium heat. Don’t move the vegetable schnitzel around before flipping over.
When they are golden brown and crispy on both sides, place them on a clean kitchen towel to extract any excess fat.
Now all that’s missing is a delicious dip that will accentuate the fresh taste of the kohlrabi. We use Greek yogurt, in which we grate some lemon zest and add some lemon juice to taste.
If you don’t have Greek yogurt at hand, we recommend mixing “regular” yogurt with less natural fat content with a little olive oil. To season our dip, we use fresh dill and cilantro, roughly chopped.
We mix it all together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Done!
For serving, you may add a lemon wedge to the plate. The summery dish tasted even our critical NextGens and is very suitable for a picnic as a vegetarian alternative to Bavarian meatballs.
Enjoy.
And may the taste be with you.
Ingredients (for 4 people as a starter):
500 g kohlrabi
1 untreated lemon
4 tablespoons starch
2 eggs (vegan alternative: 100 ml soy milk, 1 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp mustard)
50 g panko or bread crumbs
Optionally some grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Neutral oil for frying
250 g Greek yogurt
Olive oil
Fresh dill and cilantro
Salt and pepper
