creamy celeriac & apple soup // spicy winter greens oil

Let us start the new year off right! After plenty of celebrating this past holiday season I am ready to push the reset button. I love the amazing energy the new year brings;  warming soups, new workout routines, plenty of freshly made juice each morning & loads of winter produce from the weekend farmers market.

Celeriac is a "new" to me winter root vegetable; I have read about it here and there and knew it was the edible root of the celery plant, but beyond that I didn't know much more. The celeriac root has a mild, pleasant celery taste and can be treated much like any root vegetable; mashed, roasted or pureed.

I am sure pureed celeriac soups are a dime a dozen, but this is such an easy way to tackle the bulbous vegetable making it super simple for the most novice cook to whip up a batch of soup using a somewhat intimidating root veggie. Every component in this soup (with the exception of the spices) was grown locally, which in my book is a big win.

Crisp Winter greens are processed with olive oil and dried chilies - the spicy oil lends some interest to the silky smooth, otherwise mild soup. Any combination of your favorite greens can be used - to be honest I am not entirely certain what greens were used in my batch; some where familiar, others not so much.

How do you kick off the start to your new year?

Creamy Celeriac & Apple Soup ~ Spicy Winter Greens
makes 6-8 servings

you will need:
2 celeriac roots (medium in size), trimmed and chopped

3 apples, cored and chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced 

1 medium red onion, roughly copped 
1 tbsp olive oil 
4- 6 cups water 

white pepper to taste 

salt to taste

2 cups winter greens

2 dried chile peppers 

1/4 cup olive oil 

assembly:
 pre heat oven to 425 degrees

Peel the tough outer layer of each celeriac root. Roughly chop each celeriac root into uniform chunks, place on a rimmed baking sheet. Core and roughly chop apples and add to the baking sheet along with diced garlic cloves, chopped onion & olive oil - toss to coat veggies in the olive oil. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until veggies are soft.

Add veggies to a soup pot along with 4-6 cups of water (this will depend on how thick or think you prefer your soup). Season with salt & pepper. Using an immersion blender, puree soup until velvety smooth. Return to heat and keep warm until ready to serve. Leftovers can be cooled and saved for later in the fridge (up top a week) or in the freezer (up to 6 months).

To make the spicy winter greens oil - add all ingredients to a small food processor and process until well blended. For a smoother oil- lightly steam the greens, I personally preferred the raw version.

To serve, ladle soup in bowls and top with a tablespoon of spicy winter greens oil. Leftover oil can be stored in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for 6 months.

Enjoy!