Pear and Kohlrabi Salad

A pear, kohlrabi, and walnuts.

Pears are in season this time of year and the varieties available will delight your palate.  Delicious in salads and desserts, and by themselves, pears have more than 5 grams of fiber and less than 100 calories.  A medium pear makes a great afternoon snack that will hold you until dinner time.

Kohlrabi is somewhat alien-looking with the many shoots coming out of it.  A cultivar of cabbage, one cup of kohlrabi offers almost 5 grams of fiber and about 35 calories.  It has a very mild broccoli-like flavor and can be consumed raw or cooked.

The two are paired with walnuts and a light vinaigrette to create a fresh side salad for chicken or pork.  I originally saw a similar recipe on Our Big Earth website.  Nutritional calculations thanks to Fitday.com.

serves: 2                             prep time: 15 minutes

1 pear, cut into matchsticks
1 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup toasted walnut pieces

Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Place the prepared pear, kohlrabi, and walnuts in a bowl.  Whisk together the dressing ingredients and adjust seasoning.  Mix into the salad and serve.

One half of the recipe provides 250 calories, 6 g fiber, 3.6 g protein.

- Kim Fielding