Kohlrabi

Cut off the leaves and stems, then peel the bulb with a sharp knife; the outer skin can be too tough for a peeler. Slice or grate the crisp flesh for salads and slaws, or cut it into chunks for cooking.

Boil peeled chunks for about 10–15 minutes, until tender when pierced with a knife. For roasting, cut into wedges, toss with oil and roast at 200 °C for 25–35 minutes, turning once.

Yes. The peeled bulb is crisp and mildly peppery raw, and the leaves are edible too: wash them well, remove any tough stems and slice them into salads or cook them like kale.

Remove the leaves, as they draw moisture from the bulb, and keep both separately in the fridge. Store the unwashed bulb in a bag in the crisper drawer; use it within a couple of weeks, and cook the leaves within a few days.

Its crisp bulb tastes mildly sweet and cabbage-like, with a hint of radish. Try it grated with apple and lemon in a slaw, or roast it with garlic and herbs; the leaves work well with onion and a little chilli.

For raw slaw, use turnip or a crisp cabbage; for roasted or boiled chunks, turnip or celeriac is a good stand-in. Both turnip and celeriac have a stronger, earthier flavour than kohlrabi.

No. Kohlrabi is a swollen stem, while a turnip is a root; both belong to the cabbage family, but kohlrabi is usually crisper and milder. Its leafy tops are edible, much like turnip greens.

A 100 g portion provides 28 kcal and 1.5 g of fibre. It is a light, crisp vegetable, but it is not a particularly rich source of fibre.