kohlrabi, persimmon, hazelnut and mint salad

I can’t take any credit for this salad idea and I have shamelessly copied the ingredient combination from Mulberry and Prince, a fab new restaurant in town. We ate there recently and I was super impressed with everything at this gorgeous New York style eatery.

This was one of the items on their menu and I thought the kohlrabi – which incidentally is my new favourite vegetable, worked so well with the thinly sliced persimmon. It was such an interesting and unexpected pairing.

Their dish was topped off with crunchy roasted hazelnuts, chopped mint and shavings of a cheese which I couldn’t quite identify after the fact and forgot to ask on the night. I don’t think it was Parmesan, it tasted creamier, but Parm is a delicious salad cheese, so I decided to go with it.

It needed a dressing of sorts, so I drizzled a good extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar over the finished salad and seasoned it well with Maldon salt. The sweet and crunchy combined so well with the salty elements, and it was a delicious textural and perfectly balanced dish. 

You could eat it as a side. I can imagine it paired beautifully with anything pork. A grilled chicken dish of sorts could be another options as well as a well cooked fillet of fish. It also works as a stand alone salad. One that is a little impressive and different.

To make this finely slice the desired quantity of peeled kohlrabi and unpeeled persimmons. I find using a mandolin the only way the get it perfectly even and thin. Layer these slightly interwoven on a flat plate and scatter over a good amount of roughly chopped roasted hazelnuts. Cutting them in half is adequate. You will need a small handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped, as well as a generous layer of Parmesan cheese shavings. Drizzle the salad with a really good quality extra virgin olive oil – be fairly liberal here, and sprinkle with salt. I also added a few teaspoons of red wine vinegar, but you could also use a good white wine vinegar too. Serve immediately.

 

 

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