Cream of White Turnip Soup

© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2010

White Turnip (German: Speiserübe, Mairübchen, Teltower Rübchen, French: Navet) were a very common vegetable in past. They were discovered again here in German and you now can get the different varieties again. The taste of White turnips remind a bit of cabbage turnip (Kohlrabi) and radish with a delicate sweet touch. Together with potatoes they make a nice and easy to make Cream of White Turnip Soup.

Cream of White Turnip Soup
(4-6 servings)

500g white turnips
400g floury potatoes
1 leek
4 tablespoons butter
800ml vegetable broth
100g Creme Fraiche (sour creme)
salt and pepper to taste
nutmet to taste
For garnish: Pumpkin seed oil (or walnut oil)

Peel white turnips and potatoes and cut into pieces. Clean leek and cut into rings (use only the white part). Heat butter in a suited pot and add turnips, potatoes and leek and cook for a minute or two but don't let brown. Add the vegetable broth and a bit of salt. Let cook until the vegetables are soft (depending on size this will need between 15 to minutes). When vegetables are soft puree the vegetables with a hand blender. Mix in the Creme Fraich but do not let cook again. If the soup is too thick add some water. Add salt and pepper to taste. At last add some nutmeg powder.
Garnish the soup with a few drops of pumpkin seed oil (you can also use other oils like walnut oil or even truffle oil).
For some greenery you can use the green part of the leek. Cut it into small rings and blanch them for a few seconds, so that they get soft) Add some leek rings on top of the soup.
Serve with some white bread.

You can serve it in smaller cups for a nice starter soup (then you will have around 6 servings) or in larger bowls (around 4 servings)