Chestnut Soup
Total time: 20 minutes
Use either fresh or canned chestnuts for this seasonal, early winter soup. The chestnuts will cook down and break apart as the soup simmers.
Ingredients:
- 3 - 4 slices bacon, (3oz, 90gr)
- 1 medium
onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 rib
celery
- 1 medium
carrot
- 1 1/2 cups chestnuts
- 1 tbs butter
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups (16oz, 480ml) chicken stock
Instructions:
- If using fresh chestnuts: With a sharp knife cut an 'X' through tough outer shell.
- Put in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and boil for 5 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat.
- Removing 1 chestnut at a time peel off shells and inner skin.
- Chestnuts must stay hot to peel easily. If they cool down too much while you are working, bring them to a boil again.
- Put peeled chestnuts into a saucepan, cover with beef broth, bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until tender.
- Drain.
- If using canned chestnuts: Open jar.
- The soup: Cut bacon into matchsticks.
- Roughly chop onion, celery and carrot.
- Mince garlic.
- Sauté bacon in a medium saucepan.
- When crisp, remove and drain fat.
- Add butter to pan along with onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Sauté until onion is tender.
- Add chestnuts, bay leaves and stock. Cover and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Break any whole chestnuts up with the back of the spoon.
- When soup is ready, remove bay leaves, ladle into bowls and serve.