As usual, my cooking is driven by what’s at the farmers’ market and what’s in my CSA box. This week, the star of my CSA box was kohlrabi. If you’re unfamiliar with kohlrabi, learn more about it here. Lots of options available, but I chose to use the mother dish method; Cream of Anything Soup. To find out more about the general mother dish method, follow this link.
For the aromatics, I chose a medium sized leek, one green garlic stalk and one carrot. In hindsight, I should have left the carrot out. Taste-wise it’s a fine inclusion, but color-wise, well it just dominated the light green hues of everything else. The star ingredient was, of course, the kohlrabi. I used the bulb and stems in this dish. The leaves were reserved for another dish. The recipe is super simple. Sauté the aromatics in olive oil until they are softened. Add the kohlrabi and stock. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender. Taste test, add salt and pepper as appropriate, and optionally add 2 ounces of cream. That’s it. Serve it hot. Of course, the perfect partner for Cream of Anything Soup is grilled cheese!
Cream of Kohlrabi Soup
Equipment
- Stock Pot
- Immersion Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium leek chopped
- 1 stalk green garlic chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 1.25 lbs kohlrabi peeled and chopped (stems included, leaves reserved for another dish)
- 3.5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 oz heavy cream optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sauté the leeks, green garlic, carrot and kohlrabi stems in the olive oil. Add ½ tsp of salt to help draw out water from the aromatics. Sauté until everything is softened; expect about 5 minutes.
- Add the kohlrabi to the pot and add enough stock to just reach the top of the ingredients. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer.
- After about 10 minutes, check on the status of the pot. It’s OK for the some of the kohlrabi to be above the level of the stock, but if it’s looking too dry, add more stock or just water.
- Continue to check every 10 minutes. Adjust the liquid levels and check for doneness. Expect about 30 minutes to cook the kohlrabi to a soft and tender state. If you can easily push a wooden spatula through a chunk of kohlrabi, it’s ready for the next step.
- Use an immersion blender to puree everything into a smooth soup. Before everything is totally smooth, make some final adjustments. First, taste for seasoning and mouthfeel. If the soup seems too thick, add stock or water. For a richer mouthfeel, add 2 ounces of cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finish the pureeing and serve hot.
