Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Soup with Nutmeg, Homemade Crispy Baked Beet Chips, and Dry Apricot-Hazelnut Bread

Direction for apricot-hazelnut bread: Mix the yeast with the brown sugar, add a bit of water and two tablespoons of flour, stir thoroughly, leave for 10 min.

Add in the rest of the water and mix well.

Adding gradually the flour make a dough, add the salt, dry apricots, and roasted hazelnuts at the end.

Knead the dough for 5 min, shape into a ball, dust thoroughly with the flour and leave to rise covered in a container for 1 hour.

Shape the bread into a loaf of any form, generously sprinkle with the flour and transfer the loaf onto a baking paper.

Cover with the kitchen towel and leave for 30 min.

Preheat the oven together with the baking tray to 420F.

Score the loaf, using a sharp knife at a 45° angle.

Bake for 5 min, reduce the heat to 400F and bake for 35 min.

Switch off the oven, transfer the bread on a grid and keep it in the oven for 10-15 min, leaving the oven door ajar.

Take the bread out of the oven and cool down completely on a wire rack.

Directions for beet chips: Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Using the slicing blade of your food processor, a mandoline or a sharp knife, slice beets thinly. You want them to be the size of a potato chip.

Spread evenly on a cookie sheet, spray with nonstick spray and season with salt.

Roast about 2 hours, turning halfway through, until crisp. Check often to make sure they don't burn. you may need to roast for a shorter or longer period of time depending on your oven and how crisp you want them - keep an eye on them -)

Directions for soup: Preheat an oven to 400ºF.

In a bowl, combine the carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until the carrots are tender and golden around the edges, 35 to 40 minutes.

In a soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and sauté, stirring, until tender 5 to 10 minutes. Add the roasted vegetables, broth, nutmeg and bring to a simmer.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Using a blender, food processor or stick blender, puree the soup, then pass it through a chinois. Return the soup to the pot add cream and season with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish each serving with a cilantro sprig and the beet chips.

Serve immediately.