Roasted Kohlrabi with Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts

Does this even count as a 'dish' worthy of a blog entry? It's just roasted vegetables. Though, I confess, roasted veggies was something I only discovered within the last decade or so. I thought all vegetables like this could only be prepared by steaming. Which IS the only way I ever ate them growing up. Fast-forward to adult life and somewhere I stumbled upon roasting them instead. Ah ha! Asparagus tastes even more awesome. Cauliflower transforms from good to fantastic. Brussel sprouts - wow!

But, it was still German week when I was trying to figure out a vegetable side dish so I added kohlrabi into the equation for this meal. I'd never eaten kohlrabi (aka German turnip) before, but with our membership in a CSA this year I had plenty of chances to experiment with turnips. My sister laughed and educated me that "what to do with all those turnips?" was the proverbial question asked by all CSA members at some point.

This preparation is extremely straightforward. The only words of advice I can add when making this are "do not absent-mindedly leave the house with vegetables in the oven that have already been roasting for 1 1/4 hours." If you make this same error, you too will end up with an extremely 'carmelized' side dish. The bread crumb topping was partially inspired by this recipe, and partially to cover up the extremely dark color.

Roasted Kohlrabi with Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts

Inspired by Nicolé, Adapted from Food Network

3 medium kohlrabi
1 lb brussel sprouts
1 small head cauliflower
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 slice whole wheat bread

Heat oven to 400. Peel kohlrabi and dice into 3/4" pieces. Trim brussel sprouts by cutting off root end and removing outer layer of leaves. Cut in half, or quarter if extremely large. Trim cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Toss veggies with olive oil, salt & pepper and distribute in a single layer on a sheet pan. Bake for 1 1/4 hours.

While veggies are baking, put bread into food process to make crumbs. Spread on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 3-4 minutes until gold brown.