shaved kohlrabi and apple salad with watercress and an orange blossom vinaigrette

Weeks into an elimination phase heavy on soup, stew and slow-roasted trays, the texture you start missing most is crunch, something that snaps when you bite it instead of giving way. This salad is built entirely around that. Fifteen minutes, no stove, and what comes back is a plate that genuinely crunches.

Vitamin C shows up here in real amounts, from both the kohlrabi and the apple, and your body uses vitamin C as a cofactor to build collagen, the same structural protein your gut lining and your joints depend on. There is vitamin K in the watercress too, and none of it needs cooking to matter here, raw is part of what makes this plate work.

Shave everything thin enough to see light through it, lay it out so the colors show rather than piling it into a heap, and eat it while the kohlrabi is still cold and the apple has not had time to soften. A raw plate like this rewards being looked at before it is eaten.

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 2 kohlrabi, peeled and sliced thinly
• 2 tart, crisp apples (such as Granny Smith), quartered and sliced thinly
• 1 bunch watercress
• edible flowers, to garnish

For the dressing:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp orange blossom water
• 1 tsp raw honey
• generous pinch sea salt

Method

Peel the kohlrabi and slice it as thinly as you can, using a mandoline or a sharp knife so the slices are almost translucent. Quarter the apples and slice them thinly the same way. If you are prepping ahead, toss the apple slices with a little of the dressing or a squeeze of lemon to keep them from browning.

Whisk the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, orange blossom water, raw honey and a generous pinch of sea salt together in a small jar or bowl until the honey dissolves and the dressing comes together. Orange blossom water is a flavoring distillate, not an alcohol, so it stays in.

Put the shaved kohlrabi, sliced apple and watercress in a serving bowl. Pour over just enough dressing to lightly coat and toss gently with your hands so the leaves do not bruise. Scatter the edible flowers over the top and serve right away, while everything is crisp.

*Adapted from healingfamilyeats.com*