Kohlrabi White Wine Chicken Linguine

On Tuesday, I picked up a beautiful kohlrabi at the local farmers market. I’ve never cooked kohlrabi, but I figured I’d be able to make something good out of it.

The vendor who sold me the kohlrabi also gave me a couple recipes and when I saw a pasta dish, I knew pasta it was!

Rather than following the recipe, I decided to wing it. I sauteed two organic chicken breasts (boneless), seasoned with salt and pepper.

I cooked the kohlrabi in the same pot with the pasta.

Onions, garlic, white wine (a pinot grigio I bought at Trader Joe’s), and brown bits from the chicken helped make my sauce, along with pasta water.

From the pasta pot to the saute pan.

I think I misjudged how much pasta this small pan would hold. Oops!

Some fresh-grated parmesan cheese on top makes pasta better.

The finished product – light and delicious.

Kohlrabi White Wine Chicken Linguine
by me
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1 kohlrabi, rinsed, bulb thinly-sliced (outside layer removed if necessary), leaves/stems chopped roughly
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 lb linguine (or other pasta)
• 3/4-1 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• parmesan cheese, to top, optional

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add kohlrabi and cook for 12 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a medium saute pan over medium heat with the olive oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper and saute till browned on both sides (and mostly cooked through). Place cooked chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover loosely with tin foil (chicken will continue to cook a bit with residual heat)
3. When chicken is done cooking, the kohlrabi 15 minutes should be nearly over. Add onions and saute till translucent, 3-4 minutes. When onions done, add garlic and cook till fragrant, about 1 minute. Add white wine to deglaze the pan. Bring to a boil and then lower to simmer to reduce liquid.
4. Meanwhile, when the 12 minutes is over, add the linguine to kohlrabi and cook following package directions.
5. Just before pasta is done cooking, slice chicken thinly.
6. When pasta is done cooking, use a strainer to move the pasta and kohlrabi to the pan with the white wine sauce. It’s ok if some pasta water gets in the pan. Add the chicken to the pan. Toss to coat pasta and chicken in sauce. Add pasta water as needed to help make a light broth-like sauce. I added about 1/2-3/4 cups of pasta water. Cook pasta over low heat for just a minute or two to let flavors come together. (Cook longer if chicken is not done – until chicken is cooked through)
7. Serve pasta in low-bowls and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
8. Enjoy!