Chestnut Soup

Sometimes luck favours you - that's exactly how I felt when I spotted a pile of sweet roasted chestnuts left over from Christmas. Foil packed with a best before date of 2025, and ready to go. We love chestnut soup, but roasting the nuts and peeling them is a very time consuming messy job.  

I know that I have shown this recipe from my book "Wild Food" by Roger Phillips before. However, several of you mentioned that you had never eaten sweet chestnuts, so I am encouraging you to give the soup a try. I have looked carefully at the small print on the back of one of my packets, and amazingly they were packed in China! However, they are excellent. Apparently Chinese chestnuts - Castanea mollissima are slightly different from the European ones, they are smaller and  sweeter. China send their exports around the world, so these must be available to you too.

Chestnut Soup - serves 4

450g chestnuts

500ml milk

250ml veg stock

freshly ground black pepper & teaspoon of nutmeg

pinch of sea salt

2 large onions finely chopped & a clove of garlic cooked in olive or rapeseed oil

toasted pine nuts & parsley to serve

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Roast the chestnuts if not using the ready prepared ones. 

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Cook onions and garlic in oil until soft, add the milk, stock, and spices, then gently heat them all up. Before boiling point turn the heat right down and let them infuse. Add the chestnuts and cook them all gently, but don't boil. When the chestnuts are soft purée the mixture with a stick blender. 

This is a very tasty, nourishing, elegant soup with a velvety texture. Serve topped with toasted pine nuts, parsley, and some good crusty bread.  

Another "nutty" recipe coming soon.