Chestnuts are amazing. Their flavour is rich and ever so slightly sweet, and the smell of them roasting takes me back to New York in winter.
A few fast facts…chestnuts:
- have about one-third of the calories of other nuts
- are low in cholesterol
- have very little fat or oil
- contain vitamin C
- have a similar texture to firm baked potato.
It’s only been the last few years that I’ve noticed them available in my local green grocer, starting in mid to late April and throughout the winter months. When buying them fresh, it’s best to look for shiny, dark brown shells and the nuts should be firm and feel heavy for their size.
My favourite thing to do with chestnuts is make soup. I know that a soup made from nuts probably sounds quite strange but it’s absolutely delicious! I stumbled across a lovely recipe in Maggie’s Harvest
This soup is a dinner party winner but beware, it takes quite a while to prepare the chestnuts ready to go into the soup—double peeling is required to remove the outside shell and then papery skin.
Ingredients
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped (optional)
2 sticks celery, diced
500g blanched chestnuts
2 fresh bay leaves
2 tbs olive oil
1.25 L chicken stock
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
½–¾ cup double cream
To prepare the chestnuts:
Carefully make a slit in the brown shell with a sharp knife and remove it, trying not to cut the nut inside. The nuts will have a light brown papery skin. Place the chestnuts in a saucepan of cold water—just enough to cover the nuts—and bring the water to the boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat as soon as it starts to boil.
Remove the chestnuts one at a time and peel away the second, papery skin. Now the chestnuts are ready to use.
To make the soup:
Gently sweat the onion and garlic in a covered soup pan for a couple of minutes. Set aside the lid and add the celery, chestnuts and bay leaf, and sauté on a medium heat until the celery is soft.
Add the stock and allow to simmer until the chestnuts are very soft and some of the liquid has reduced, approximately 45 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and puree the mixture. Season to your liking with salt and pepper. Add the cream and heat through on a low setting.
This soup can be eaten straight away or, when cooled to room temperature, divided into meal-sized portions and frozen.