Roasted kohlrabi with barley in parsley Gorgonzola béchamel

Kohlrabi is usually the last produce to go from the fridge before a shopping day. It can stay there probably for up to a week. And then there should be always a couple slices of prosciutto, hopefully Parmesan but that day there was only Gorgonzola. So I just went around the corner to get parsley because it's particularly good this time of the year and accidentally, with all that, we had a fantastic lunch...

Roasted kohlrabi with barely in parsley Gorgonzola béchamel
by Gray Apron
time: about 1 hour

 ingredients 
1 cup barley, washed
2 kohlrabi, peeled and cut a la julienne (I used a mandolin slicer)
1 cup (240 ml) milk, almond OK, warmed
2 Tablespoons (30 g) butter
2 Tablespoons (20 g) flour
2 slices Prosciutto, chopped
3.5 oz (100 g) Gorgonzola, diced, quantity divided
1 bunch parsley, chopped (about 1 cup, loosely packed)
1 Tablespoon bread crumbs
olive oil
coarse salt, freshly ground pepper and nutmeg

 instructions 
Cook barley on low heat in two cups water with 1/2 teaspoon salt till all water is absorbed.
Preheat oven to 235C/450F. In a medium ceramic baking dish, toss sliced kohlrabi, Prosciutto, pinch of salt and olive oil (about 1 teaspoon). Place the dish in the hot oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare béchamel. On a medium skillet, melt butter on medium heat till it bubbles. Add flour. Cook and mix for about 2 minutes till your see color changing to lightly brown. Pour in warmed milk. Stir for about 2 minutes till it thickens. Take it off the heat, mix in half the Gorgonzola and stir till it melts. Then add all the parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a dash of pepper and nutmeg

Add béchamel to the roasted kohlrabi, add cooked barley. Mix it all up. Flatten the surface with a spoon. Spread bread crumbs and the leftover Gorgonzola pieces on top. Drizzle everything with about 1 teaspoon olive oil. Set it in the hot oven for 15 minutes plus 5 minutes on "broil". Remove from the heat, let it cool for 10 minutes and serve.

NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES

• we have had some hot days lately, but just today when I was picking up Hania from school, I saw a girl wearing fur earmuffs...yes, May and June can be cold at the Baltic; 
• so yes, the baking continues...
• kohlrabi: I have never cooked it in any way but surprisingly, lightly roasted, it tasted very pleasant;
• the dish is light but full of rich flavors; 
• it's chewy from barley, creamy from the sauce with a subtle crunch from kohlrabi...