Kohlrabi and Potato Bake with Basil Sauce
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Bake
- 500 g kohlrabi, peeled, sliced 3 mm thick rounded
- 500 g waxy potatoes, peeled, sliced 3 mm thick rounded
- 30 g butter rounded
- 30 g flour rounded
- 500 ml milk rounded
- 30 g fresh basil rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
- to taste freshly grated nutmeg rounded
- 80 g grated hard cheese rounded
Method
Method
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute, stirring. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring, until thickened.
- Take the sauce off the heat and blend in the basil, either with a stick blender directly in the pan or in a separate blender, until the sauce is pale green and smooth. Season with salt and nutmeg.
- Heat the oven to 190°C. Layer the kohlrabi and potato slices alternately in a baking dish, overlapping slightly, seasoning lightly with salt between layers.
- Pour the basil sauce evenly over the top, making sure it settles between the layers. Scatter with cheese.
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until deeply golden on top and a knife slides through both vegetables with no resistance.
Notes
- Slice both vegetables to a matching thickness. Kohlrabi is denser than potato and cooks slightly slower; matching the thickness closely is what keeps them finishing together rather than one lagging behind.
- Blend the basil into the sauce rather than scattering it on top. Whole leaves scattered over a bake dry out and blacken in the oven; blended through the sauce, the flavour distributes evenly and stays bright.
- Season lightly between the vegetable layers, not just at the end. Unseasoned layers underneath the sauce can taste flat even when the sauce itself is well seasoned.
- It keeps for 3 days in the fridge and reheats well, covered, in a moderate oven.
Ingredient substitutions
- Kohlrabi can be swapped for celeriac in the same weight, sliced the same way, for a different but complementary flavour.
- Fresh basil can be a mix of basil and parsley if you want a milder herb flavour.
- Grated hard cheese can be any good melting cheese.