Kohlrabi

RECIPES & IMAGES EMMA GALLOWAY

My love for kohlrabi runs deep. While sadly still not the most well known of vegetables, I was lucky enough to grow up eating homegrown kohlrabi as my parents had an extensive veggie garden.

If you’re someone who fights over the broccoli stalk (me!), then you’ll love kohlrabi’s crunchy brassica vibe. I mostly eat them raw, simply peeled and eaten like an apple, but they add lovely flavour to soups and stir-fries and are amazing roasted. Kohlrabi is super easy to grow yourself (autumn is the ideal time to get seedlings in the ground), but thankfully it’s also becoming easier to find at fruit and vegetable stores or at your local farmers markets over the winter months too. They come in green and purple varieties, and while the centres of them are the same once peeled, I find the purple ones have a slightly more pronounced pepperiness to them, which I love.

Creamy Kohlrabi Soup

Loosely based on the Hungarian soup karalabe leves, this creamy soup is so much more flavourful than its visual simplicity implies. Traditionally made with milk or cream, I’ve opted to add a few potatoes to give a similar creaminess. I’ve served with a little dollop of sour cream, but if you want to keep this vegan, simply serve scattered with herbs and use olive oil instead of butter. Try and choose small, tender kohlrabi for this recipe, of which you’ll need approx. 3–5, but should your kohlrabi be a little older and larger, pass the soup through a fine sieve once pureed to remove any possible graininess.

SERVES 4

2 tbsp butter, ghee or olive oil 1 medium onion, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 750g kohlrabi, peeled and cubed 2 medium potatoes (approx. 220g), peeled and cubed 5 cups vegetable stock 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried fine sea salt and ground white pepper sour cream or crème fraiche, to serve, optional roughly chopped chives and parsley, and buttered toast, to serve

Melt butter/ghee/olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until tender but not coloured. Add kohlrabi, potato, vegetable stock and bay leaf. Season with a little salt and white pepper, give it all a good stir and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15–20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat and puree until smooth using a stick blender. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream/crème fraiche, chopped herbs and buttered toast. Store any leftovers in a lidded container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

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Paprika-Roasted Kohlrabi with Whipped Feta and Coriander Jalapeño Sauce

Choose small, tender kohlrabi for this dish. The whipped feta can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in the fridge, and the coriander jalapeño sauce can be made a few hours before serving.

SERVES 4–6

1kg kohlrabi, peeled and cut into wedges 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp paprika ½ tsp smoked paprika

WHIPPED FETA

100g feta 100g (½ cup) plain Greek yoghurt

CORIANDER JALAPEÑO SAUCE

big handful coriander leaves and tender stems zest 1 small lemon, finely grated 1 small clove garlic 1 tbsp pickled jalapeños, finely chopped 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 200°C. Combine olive oil, paprika and smoked paprika in a bowl. Add kohlrabi wedges and mix well to coat. Season with fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer kohlrabi and any paprika oil left over in the bowl to a baking tray and roast 25–30 minutes or until tender and golden. Meanwhile, place feta and yoghurt into a small food processor and blend until smooth. For the sauce, finely chop coriander, lemon zest and garlic and transfer to a small bowl. Add finely chopped jalapeño and olive oil. Season with a little salt.

To serve, spoon whipped feta onto a serving plate, spreading it to cover the base. Top with roasted kohlrabi (plus any paprika-stained oil from the tray) and coriander jalapeño sauce. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Emma Galloway mydarlinglemonthyme.com @mydarlinglemonthyme

Emma Galloway is a former chef, food photographer and creator of the multi-award winning food blog My Darling Lemon Thyme. She is the author of three cookbooks, her latest book Every Day was released in April 2021. She lives in Raglan with her husband and two children.