Winter had a little late start but it finally hit us. January has started with minus temperatures and wind chills. Its also soup month and we are going to be enjoying a lot of warm and comforting bowls. This roasted parsnip and celery soup is definitely one that will be on rotation. It’s nutritious and packed with flavour and no need to peel your parsnips. Give them a good scrub and roast them. Us Cypriots have a love of celery and is used in many of our dishes, especially paired with lemon. Celery and its leaves are not only super nutritious but really elevates the flavour of your recipe. This soup comes together in no time and celebrates seasonal local winter veggies.

There is a lot of flavour in the garnishes.

Kale chips are a fantastic way to get your family enjoying kale. They take minutes to make and are a great snack. I love them as soup and salad toppers. Using a simple garlic oil is another delicious way to boost flavour and is so versatile. You can drizzle it on soup, add to pasta and it even makes for a wonderful bread dipper. For this soup recipe, I garnished with middle eastern spices of Za’atar and Aleppo Pepper. Za’atar Spice is a blend of savoury dried herbs like oregano, marjoram or thyme, and toasted earthy spices like cumin and coriander with sesame seeds, salt and sumac! Sumac gives it a delicious unexpected tanginess. Aleppo pepper is made with burgundy chile also known as the Halaby pepper. Once ripened, the peppers are semi-dried, de-seeded, and coarsely ground. This pepper is slightly milder than the red dried chilies. These spices are optional but I highly recommend them to elevate your soup.

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Parsnip and Celery Soup with Garlic oil and Kale Chips

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Canadian

Yield: 6 people

Materials

• 1 lb parsnips ends trimmed, skin on and scrubbed
• 1 cooking onion quartered
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1 stalk celery roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup celery leaves
• 3 1/2 cup vegetable
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Aleppo Pepper
• Za’atar

Kale Chips

• 1 small bunch curly kale washed, dried and tough stems removed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• flake sea salt

Garlic oil

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 6 small garlic cloves peeled and slightly cracked with back of knife

Instructions

• To make soup, preheat oven to 400F and line a large backing sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut parsnips into 1 inch size pieces. Place parsnips and onions on baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper. Bake for 20-25 mins until parsnips have softened.
• Add parsnips, onions, celery, leaves and 3 1/2 cup vegetable stock in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
• Place in soup pot and heat until hot. Here you can stir in additional 1/2 cup vegetable stock for your preferred consistency in thickness of soup. Stir in lemon juice and season with additional salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
• To make kale chips, increase oven to 425F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment and divide the kale ensuring they are spread evenly. Toss each with 1 tbsp of olive oil to coat. Bake until crisp about 6-7 minutes turning over.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle with flaked sea salt.
• To make garlic oil, place oil and garlic in a small sauce pot. Cook over medium heat until oil starts to sizzle. Remove from heat and let stand until ready to use.
• To assemble, place soup in bowl and top with kale chips. Drizzle top with garlic oil and sprinkle aleppo pepper and za’atar.