Kohlrabi – a vegetable I bet most of you have never heard of, let alone eaten. It first started with me when I was reading my always-reliable vegetable cookbook – Greene on Greens. One of the chapters is dedicated to kohlrabi, which I skipped because I’ve never heard of it. Then one day, I was shopping at my local farm when I spotted some kohlrabi for sale. I have a habit of buying new things and figuring out what to do with them later. Remembering the chapter I skipped, I grabbed a bunch and made them for dinner.
That was probably a few years. I really don’t remember what I made with it. Probably just sauted some in a pan with seasoning. Fast forward to last month, I was down in Pittsburgh’s Strip District for the first time. Being a foodie, I was in love (and overwhelmed!) with all of the stores. My main reason for going was to check out Penzey’s Spices, where I spent $25 in spices that I’ve never used (or even heard of). One of the stores was this produce place. I’m sure it had a name but never saw a sign anywhere inside. That’s when I spotted the kohlrabi. All I could remember was I enjoyed eating it, so I bought another bunch.
Kohlrabi translates into “cabbage turnip,” which is the best way to describe this vegetable. Eating it raw reminds me of a radish without such a strong bite. And although it looks rather blah, it turns into a yummy dish. I was going to just saute it as a side when I opened my book and found a soup recipe. Not only are the bulbs edible, so are the leaves, and this soup incorporated both.
The soup originally called for boned-in chicken to be cooked in the broth, but I wasn’t feeling it. Plus I had a sweet potato ready to go rotten, so I added that instead. I also omitted the bacon because I was afraid it would overpower the kohlrabi. To prepare kohlrabi, you break off all the stems until all you have left is a sad, green bulb. Then you peel the bulb until you see its flesh.
Hungarian Kohlrabi Soup (Kalarabeleves)
Yield: 6-8
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 3 1/2 cups chicken broth (or veg broth to make it vegetarian)
- 1 cup water
- 1 pound kohlrabi with leaves
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Saute the onion in large skillet with 1 Tbsp butter for 1 minute. Add garlic and carrots. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken broth and continue to cook covered for 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a big saucepan.
- Meanwhile, boil a small pan of water. Trim, peel, and dice the kohlrabi. Peel and dice the sweet potato. Wash the kohlrabi leaves then boil for 1 minute. Drain, cool, and chop. Set aside.
- Once the broth is pureed, add the remaining 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, water, kohlrabi, and sweet potato. Cook until veggies are tender, about 15 minutes.
- In a small saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in some hot soup. Whisk mixture together then pour back into the rest of the soup. Cook until slightly thickened, 10 minutes. Add kohlrabi leaves. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
Source: Greene on Greens, page 213
K P says
I don’t know if you’re still out there as it’s now 2019, but I just found this while trying to figure out what to do with some kohlrabi I was given. I already had the bulbs roasting in the oven and was looking for something to do with the leaves. This soup looks delicious! I may get some broth and carrots to try it today and make it with the roasted kohlrabi or just cook the leaves like I would collard greens and try this soup another day :) I can’t decide!
Carla says
Yes I’m still here! You can see my latest posts on my home page :) Let me know what you think of the soup if you try it!
Donna Ryan-Cochrane says
II am not actually replying to this comment, but hoping you are still reading about the soup. I too was looking what to do with kohlrabi leaves and saw your recipe. I have some growing but not ready to harvest. This recipe is a keeper and I will make it as soon as I get them out of the ground. I used the kohlrabi bulb raw in salads. Thanks!!
Carla says
Yes I’m still here! Glad you enjoyed the recipe and great idea using the bulb in salads.
Janine says
I just made this soup since I had Kohlrabi and always wanted to use the leaves too. Omg, it is sooooo good!!! Thank you for this!
Oh and I also live in Pittsburgh ????
Dinah Gleed-Owen says
I’m UK based and have grown kohlrabi for the first time. Have lots of them ready to go. The soup looks lovely, & perfect for a vegetarian family like us
Carla says
Let me know how you like it!
Jill Shellhammer says
I’ve recently discovered kohlrabi and I love it! I can’t wait to try this soup..at the end I may add some shredded chicken.
I’m also excited about your format with recipes for 1-2 people.
Thank you for what you do!
Enjoy!
Carla says
Love the idea of adding chicken!
Lynsey says
I’d love to know what the nutritional facts are to this recipe.
Carla says
Unfortunately I do not provide nutritional info because I am not a nutritionist. You can use a calorie tracker site such as My Fitness Pal to calculate this info.
Jesse says
I just made this soup with my first ever home grown kohlrabi and it was amazing! Followed the recipe exactly!
Thanks so much!
Carla says
Oh wonderful! Glad you enjoyed the soup.
A Hungarian says
Where did you get the idea that this was Hungarian? It’s decidedly not.
Carla says
It’s from a cookbook where the author called it Hungarian.
Diane says
I just made the soup and it was wonderful! And by the way, the soup is Hungarian.😉 written as Karalábéleves, which does translate to kohlrabi soup.
Carla says
Glad you enjoyed the soup!
Bryna says
Made it exactly as written, really good! Would consider adding chicken next time as mentioned above to make the macros more balanced, but it was delicious as written. May have to check out that cookbook where you got the inspiration from. Thanks!
Carla says
Chicken would be a great addition. Glad you enjoyed the soup!
Anne says
I just made this soup, mostly followed directions, and I asked my husband to taste it. Well. 8 – 10 spoonfuls later her grinned and said it was great. Thank you for this recipe!
Carla says
Wonderful! Glad you both enjoyed the soup.