Kohlrabi, Radish and Carrot ‘Ceviche’: Virtual Vegan Potluck

I need to do a brief introduction to this post to explain these big arrows (below) and why I am deviating from my usual routine and posting on a weekend – I am taking part in the Virtual Vegan Potluck Party!! This recipe I am sharing with you is a side dish I have created for this virtual potluck party and by clicking on the arrows you will be directed to the next party guest who is also sharing a dish! You will see arrows on their page too, by following the arrows you will be guided around everyone who is taking part and you should then end up back with me again.

It’s been quite sunny here over the weekend so I imagined the Potluck Party would be held outside with a marquee, there would be a variety of herbs, spices and strong flavours and we’d all be sipping elderflower cocktails from tall glasses filled with ice and mini umbrellas…now that I have set the scene let me also explain that although my dish is technically a salad I would suggest it is a perfect side dish because the lemon and cumin would compliment any strong flavoured dish and the vinegar would help it hold its own against the main course! Even simply served alongside a hot buttery Jacket Potato!

I had fun choosing the ingredients for this and although it turned out to be a little expensive (unless you grow carrots – for some reason the shops charge double the price for a carrot with its leaves attached) I think it is a real treat for the eyes and the taste buds! I have frozen the remaining carrot tops to add to a soup or smoothie another day.

I have wanted to buy a Kohlrabi for ages now, ever since I saw them in Borough Market last year, and I am so glad I did try it. It is a weird-looking vegetable but once peeled and thinly sliced it was so delicious, kind of like the texture of an apple but the flavour of celery?!? I decided to marinate it in some olive oil, cumin, cider vinegar and lemon juice similar to fish ceviche recipes I have seen as I have had the idea of making a “Vegetable Ceviche” going through my mind for a long time now and I wanted to see how the vegetables would change. It worked perfectly and this dish tasted even better the next day after I had put all of the veg into a big bowl with the marinade/ dressing.

The only disappointment with this dish was that I had said I would make a Raw dish, however it was only after taking photos that I started to realise ingredients such as Olive Oil and Cider Vinegar are probably not raw as they would have gone through some processes before being bottled! Such a shame I will definitely research other options which may be more true to the raw food diet.

I had the idea to serve it on a long platter rather than in a bowl or on a plate as everyone could take a section of the dish using a fish slice and have a little bit of everything on their plate. I layered the sliced Kohlrabi onto the platter first to form a base and then scattered everything else on top. I used the carrot leaves for garnish as they are so pretty and there was no use wasting them!

Serves 6-8 as a side dish

For the marinade/ dressing:

3 tblspoon Good Quality Olive Oil
3 tblspoon Cider Vinegar
1 large Garlic Clove
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds (whole)
1 Large Lemon- Juice only
Ground Black Pepper to taste

For the Salad (you can use the quantities you prefer if you would rather have more radish than carrot etc):

1 large Kohlrabi or two smaller ones (I read that if its larger than a tennis ball then it can be slightly bitter so I’d suggest two smaller ones)
10-12 Radishes
4 Carrots
Handful of seed mix – I used Sunflower seeds, pine nuts and pumpkin seeds
Handful of Carrot leaves as a garnish

Mix all of the ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl and put to one side.

Peel the Kohlrabi (I kept peeling untill it no longer had any green on it and was just white) then thinly slice it using a sharp knife. Place the slices of Kohlrabi into the bowl of dressing and mix so it is all coated.

Wash and peel the carrots then thinly slice them. For the thicker part of the carrot I First sliced it into half or quarters lengthways and then continued to slice the carrot. I often don’t peel my carrots but because this dish is quite neat and pretty I think it is necessary.

Wash and thinly slice the Radishes then add them and the carrots into the bowl with the kohlrabi and mix. Leave this in the bowl for around 30 mins.

Take your platter tray or plate and first layer the Kohlrabi slices over lapping them so they create a full base. You can do this in circles on a round plate or in a long line like I have.

Scatter the radishes and carrots over the Kohlrabi so that everything is evenly spread, then add a sprinkle of seeds and a garnish of carrot tops! This will start to build character as you build up all of the ingredients.

Finally drizzle the dressing from the bowl over the platter and then serve!

I had some left over dressing which I put in a jug in the fridge for a salad the next day – remember you don’t want to drown the salad!

I have now added this to “Britains Got Salad” over at the blog “we don’t eat anything with a face” a great idea to show how verstaile salads can and should be!