I love chestnut soup! I have made lots of variations of it and taken inspiration from many recipes for this one. I particularly like Nigella Lawson’s version but I have tweaked it so many times that the following recipe is by far my favourite way to do it. By all means, roast the chestnuts yourself if you fancy it but for convenience I use the vac packed type. If you can’t get these, unsweetened puree will suffice.
I made this soup as a starter for Sunday lunch recently. We had 8 adults, 3 children & 2 dogs. The soup went down well with both adults and children alike. Although it is ideal at Christmas time it is not confined to it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :0)
(Serves 6 generously)
Ingredients:
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 carrot, chopped
1/2 parsnip, chopped
1 stick of celery, chopped
A good glug of olive oil
A couple of Sage leaves, chopped
250 grms of vacuum packed Chestnuts, chopped or 1 tin of Unsweetened Chestnut Puree
1 small tin of Chickpeas
75 mls Marsala, Madeira or Sherry
750 mls of Chicken Stock
Salt & Pepper
3-4 Slices Parma/Serrano ham or streaky rashers
A dollop of crème fraiche for each bowl
Method:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the veg for about 10 mins or until softened with a pinch of salt
Add the chickpeas, sage and chestnuts and continue cooking for another minute or so
Add the most of the alcohol (keeping a little back) and allow to bubble up
Add the chicken stock and simmer for about 30 mins
When all the ingredients are soft, blend the soup and check for seasoning
Add the remainder of the alcohol and stir through
To Serve:
Cook the bacon until crisp and chop up finely
Pour the soup into bowls and place a dollop of crème fraiche on each, topped with the bacon