This is a guide on how to turn that brown, knobbly bowling ball you picked up from the bottom shelf of the produce section into a delectable, non-knobbly, even very creamy, soup. The great thing about celery root (also known as celeriac, or my favorite, knob celery) is that you don’t have to cook it immediately. It has a relatively long shelf life. So no rush, man. Let the knob hang around for a while. When you are ready, come back to this page.

You’ll notice kohlrabi (say what?) is on the list of ingredients. When I was developing this soup I had a small kohlrabi in the vegetable drawer of my fridge. Occasionally when I am perusing the produce section I will buy fruits and vegetables that I couldn’t put a name to if my life depended on it. At home I do my research and have fun experimenting with a new flavor. This is how I learned what a kohlrabi is and how it ended up in this soup. If you can’t find one or don’t want to try something new, just use a turnip. Turnips are way more common anyway.

The entire process is fairly straightforward. You most importantly need to make sure you cook the celery root and kohlrabi/turnip until they are knife-tender. Be patient and it will soon be time to blend it all together.

Since I started using an immersion blender a couple years ago, my soup-making motivation has soared. Remember that next time you’re staring at an immersion blender on a store shelf and wondering if you would ever use it. Definitely worth the $30.

When you are serving the soup, be sure to throw in a few extra grinds when adding the black pepper. The butter, nutmeg, pepper combo pairs incredibly with the root flavors. Enjoy.