Caramelized Kohlrabi Soup
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 3pounds kohlrabi, turnips or a combination, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
- 1¾teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- 1large white onion, peeled and diced
- 3garlic cloves, minced
- 2cups vegetable or chicken stock (or use water)
- 1bay leaf
- 1small lemon, preferably a Meyer lemon
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, as needed
- Smoky chile powder, as needed
Preparation
- Step 1
Arrange an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the broiler. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss together kohlrabi, 2 tablespoons oil, ¾ teaspoon salt and the black pepper. Transfer to oven and broil until very well browned, about 10 minutes total, tossing halfway through cooking. (Watch carefully to see that they do not burn.)
- Step 2
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and let cook for 1 minute.
- Step 3
Add roasted kohlrabi, stock, 3 cups water, the bay leaf and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium, cover partly, and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes.
- Step 4
Discard bay leaf. Using an immersion blender or working in batches in a food processor, purée soup until very smooth.
- Step 5
Zest the lemon into the pot, then halve it and squeeze in its juice. Taste soup and add more salt if needed. Ladle soup into bowls and top with a drizzle of oil, grated cheese and a pinch of chile powder.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
judith
I'm guessing, given the 3 lbs of kohlrabi, that the 3 c. of water are in addition to the 2 cups of stock, for a total of 5 c. of liquid--stock AND water or just water. Those 3 cups of water in step 3 didn't make it into the ingredients list.
Christa
Absolutely superb. I used a mixture of kohlrabi and scarlet turnips. Since I had kohlrabi greens, I sauteed them with some garlic and chile in olive oil while the soup was simmering and topped/stirred them into each serving of soup. A dusting of ground chipotle chile gave it a wonderfully aromatic and flavorful finish as did the lemon, which brightened it up.
jj
two cups of stock/water listed in the ingredients; three cups added in step 3. which is it?
Yelena
Made this tonight, and it turned out delicious. Don't have a broiler, so roasted at 550 til a little brown, and that worked well, but took quite a while. Also, peeling the kohlrabi took forever, I would recommend using a knife rather than a peeler to the uninitiated. Finally, used celeriac in addition to kohlrabi, and it worked beautifully. Thank you for this great addition to my winter repertoire!
Roberto
Be sure kohlrabi starts at room temperature, lest it take much longer than ten minutes to brown.
Sharon Britton
I thought this was a private cooking note! That’s Ancho chili (Darn Autocorrect). I love this soup! Finally, a use for Kohlrabi....
Stacy Hall
Can't emphasize enough how important it is to peel/cut away ALL fibrous parts of the kohrabi. I used some big fellas from my winter garden, and even after cooking and blending thoroughly I still had fibrous pieces that ruined the lovely. light texture and taste of this soup.
Suzanne F
It says: use the broiler.
leighann
This was shockingly good. I usually avoid the kohlrabi in my winter CSA, but I decided to give this recipe a try using one 3-pound kohlrabi. I made sure to aggressively peel away the outer layers. I broiled the pieces for 20 min. The lemon is key. I served with a healthy topping of parm and a pinch of red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick. Even my finicky 10-year old loved it.
Anne
I have made this a couple of times, I followed the recipe faithfully the first time and for the second I used yellow onion and added some potato, and omitted the lemon. Delicious! Great served with crumbled bacon in addition to the shredded Gruyère.
Paul
Very tasty and easy. Great way to use kohlrabi, who knew? I used some smoked paprika rather than chili powder but otherwise followed. The lemon adds a nice flair to the flavor. Oh and I also added some of the kohlrabi leaves because why not. Not the most appetizing color but great flavor.
Alexis
Lovely and life changing to know kohlrabi and turnips can be so delicious! The turnips took a lot longer to cook than the kohlrabi. I used a combination of both and doubled the recipe using yellow onions, turkey broth and Meyer lemons. Tasty with Parmesan and a sprinkle of Trader Joe's smoked chili powder. I omitted the water. It was actually great without the garnishes but even better with.
amy and scott
Amazing recipe! I never knew kohlrabi could be passable, let alone delicious. Melissa Clark is my fairy godmother. Did 5c (homemade quick) vege stock and smoked paprika. What a winner!
Alex
added a potato and used homemade vegetable broth; next time i won’t puree because the liquid was mostly reduced and it had a beautiful tender texture prior to pureeing. even with adding yogurt, lemon juice and olive oil it was a thick slop once pureed, albeit delicious
Evie
Hate to be that person but I made some changes based off of what I had available in the house Only used 1 lb of turnips and kohlrabi used 1/2 of a large onion simmered in 2 cups of veggie broth (after blending, was too thick so I added 1 cup of water to thin out) Added 6 fresh sage leaves, pinches of Aleppo pepper and Spanish sweet paprika with the bay leaf sautéed the onions until they had a deeper caramel color after blended, added frozen peas and simmered until the peas were warm
Amy
This was really delicious. Farmer’s market kohlrabi. Halved the recipe, sautéed the greens with garlic and oil and added to bowls, only puréed partially.
Kevin
This is quite thick and surprisingly sweet, in a good way. Will thin with a little mushroom stock. Did not see the note about 5c of liquid total; I think that would be too much.
Anne
I have made this a couple of times, I followed the recipe faithfully the first time and for the second I used yellow onion and added some potato, and omitted the lemon. Delicious! Great served with crumbled bacon in addition to the shredded Gruyère.
Natalie
This was delicious. I didn’t have quite enough kohlrabi and turnips, so I threw in an heirloom carrot. I imagine you could sub in a number of root veggies and it would still be good.
Sarah
I'll bet a preserved lemon before blending would be delicious!
Lauren
Had 1.5 lbs of kohlrabi and turnips on hand from the good ol’ CSA box. Halved the recipe and it turned out great. I was dubious about the addition lemon but it really complements the soup and brightens it up! Husband and I finished the soup in one sitting. Wouldn’t go out of the way to get kohlrabi and turnips to make this soup, but if I have them on hand again, I’d definitely make this soup.
Kwick
This is bananapants good. Try it!
Josh
If this turns out very bitter, does that mean I cooked the vegetables too much or not enough?
leighann
This was shockingly good. I usually avoid the kohlrabi in my winter CSA, but I decided to give this recipe a try using one 3-pound kohlrabi. I made sure to aggressively peel away the outer layers. I broiled the pieces for 20 min. The lemon is key. I served with a healthy topping of parm and a pinch of red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick. Even my finicky 10-year old loved it.
Audrey
Delicious winter soup! I could only find turnips so used only those. Also, I accidentally let the turnips get a little too caramelized, more in the "charred" territory. If you like bitterness, the char isn't a bad addition! Kind of an endive-y taste added in.
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