I was down in the shukh this week and I encountered what seemed to be a nest of alien eggs! Spindly, green, and round, they seemed to have come here from somewhere near Neo Nebulus Nine and were getting ready to hatch and begin phase two of an invasion of Earth. They were on sale though, and cheap, so I bought one. I should, after all, do my part to save the human race!
Here is a picture:
I let it sit for a while, not knowing what to do with it. I returned from class hoping I wouldn’t come home to find a swarm of lizard-like extra-terrestrial maggnatrons and fortunately, I didn’t. Still not knowing what it was, and with this blog in mind, I decided to make an incision.
I was delighted to find what seemed to be an odd combination of an apple, a radish and a carrot. I tasted it. I discovered a wonderfully refreshing rooty flavor with a mild peppery aftertaste. mmmm. It would go great in a salad. So… I did what the Israelis do! I cut up a cucumber and a tomato and made a salad!
What’s my recipe? Mix together in a large bowl:
- Tomato
- Cucumber
- The Alien Root
- A little bit of Onion
- A couple chopped picked eggplants (with some of the brine)
- Oil
- Za’atar
- Salt
- Pepper
And there you have some incredible Israeli salad! But what is this green stuff? I was wandering around סופרסל, the local supermarket, when I re-encountered these wild roots. I wrote down their name: קולורבי, and did a little research. It is called a Kohlrabi in English which comes from the German words for Cabbage and Turnip combined. Apparently, it is in the cabbage family, but it resembles a turnip. How creative! It can be eaten raw (recommended) or cooked (have not done). I will try cooking it soon I guess. Or maybe I will find a vegetable from some other world.
Aaron Strick is a Masa participant studying at the University of Haifa, one of Masa Israel’s 160 programs.
