Creamy Roasted Chestnut Soup
One of the best things about visiting Portugal in the fall is the abundant chestnuts that are everywhere!
At the first hint of autumn chill the roasted chestnut stands and carts begin to appear. Plumes of white smoke and the unmistakable scent of roasted chestnuts fills the air.
I was not about to let a little thing like not being able to travel to Portugal this fall to stop me from enjoying these roasted delicacies!
Luckily here in Toronto it is quite easy to find chestnuts from Europe in shops all over the city. Mainly Italian chestnuts, but there are a few places that carry chestnuts from Portugal. My go to place is the family run Tavora Foods.
At home you can roast your chestnuts in a cast iron pan on a grill, or on a baking sheet in a hot oven. It’s not quite the same as over a fire or hot coals, but delicious all the same.
Of course, roasted chestnuts are delicious eaten right out of there shells, but they also make great additions to sweet and savory recipes.
Today I used some to make a Creamy Roasted Chestnut Soup. It’s a wonderful, luxurious soup, that is rich and a tiny bit sweet. A perfect taste of autumn!
The soup starts with a simple base of sautéed bacon and shallots, followed by some mushrooms to give a hint of earthiness to the soup.
To give the soup a nice thick, creaminess I’ve used celery root (celeriac) instead of potato. The celeriac has a subtle, celery-like flavour, with nutty overtones that blends perfectly with the flavour of the chestnuts.
Then all you need is some vegetable stock, a few sprigs of thyme, sage and a bay leaf. And of course the star of the dish, roasted chestnuts!
I like to finish the soup with a little heavy cream, but it’s optional. Likewise, if you want to make a vegetarian version the bacon can be omitted.
The soup can be made ahead of time, leaving out the cream until the soup is reheated and ready to serve. The soup will keep, refrigerated, for 2-3 days.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 45 grams unsalted butter, divided
- 3-4 slices bacon finely chopped
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 1 small celery root celeriac peeled and finely chopped (about 300 -350 grams)
- 250 grams cremini mushrooms sliced
- 375-400 grams roasted chestnuts shelled and coursley chopped
- 1.5 litres vegetable stock
- 60 ml 60 mL port or brandy
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh sage or ¼ tsp 1 mL dried
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme or ¼ tsp 1 mL dried
- 60 ml heavy cream (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Roast the Chestnuts
- Preheat oven to 220° C/425° FUsing a sharp knife cut an X into the shell of each chestnut, making sure to cut through to the inner skin of the chestnuts. This allows steam to escape and keeps them from exploding during cooking and makes peeling easier after roasting Place the chestnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast the chestnuts in the oven until the skin starts to peel away from chestnut, about 25 to 30 minutes. To check if they're ready, poke your knife through the opening where the skin has pulled back. It should easily pierce through. Remove the chestnuts from the oven and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then peel the chestnuts using your hands, or a paring knife for any stubborn skins.
Prepare the Soup
- In a large, heavy-bottom soup pot or Dutch oven, over medium heat, melt 15 grams (1 tbsp) of the butter; add the bacon and cook until starting to brown, but not crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Add the shallots and celery root; cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl, leaving the fat and butter in the pot.
- Add the rest of the butter, mushrooms and chestnuts to the pot. Continue to cook on medium, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the shallot, celery root, bacon mixture back to the pot along with 60 ml (¼ cup of the stock, stir to combine.
- Add the Port and cook until the alcohol has burned off, 1-2 minutes
- Add the rest of the stock along with the sage, thyme and bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring often.
- Remove the herbs; discard.
- Working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender and purée soup until smooth. return to the pot, taste, and adjust for salt and pepper.
- When ready to serve, heat the soup to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add the cream, stirring to combine.
- Serve garnished with a swirl of cream and a sprig of thyme.