- Prep Time: 60 minutes
Creamy Chestnut Soup
Tidbits... This sizzling creamy soup is just the right choice for a cold winter night.
Ingredients
- Chestnuts - 500 g
- Speck or Bacon - 2 oz. thinly sliced
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 2 T
- Vegetable Broth
- Water - 1 1/2 liters
- Leek - 1 sliced white part only
- Carrot - 1 cut into pieces
- Celery - 1 rib cut into pieces
- White Onion - 1 sliced
- Thyme - 1 sprig
- Salt and pepper - to taste
- Crostini - 1 or 2 per serving
Instructions
- Before roasting chestnuts soak 20 minutes in warm water. Score an X in flat side of each chestnut cutting through shells and inner skin. Put flat sides up and roast about 30minutes in pre-heated oven at 400°. Peel while warm removing shell and inner skin. (Another option is after scoring chestnuts boil on stovetop in abundant water for 20 minutes, drain and peel.) Add to broth cooking an additional 20 minutes.
- Run broth through strainer, remove and set aside 4 whole chestnuts for garnish. Pureè the vegetables and cooked chestnuts. Add filtered broth until you reach the desired creamy consistency.
- Slice speck or bacon in short strips and saute in olive oil with the 4 reserved chestnuts and thyme for 2 or 3 minutes until slightly crisp.
- Serve soup hot and garnish with crostini, sautéed speck and chopped chestnuts.
