There is nothing better than free food! And this soup practically was. Even though winter is approaching nature is still providing some fabulous freebies. On a recent walk I found myself walking on a carpet of chestnut cases – many of which still filled with fat, shiny chestnuts. After filling my pockets in less than 15mins I was desperate to get home and roast them. And the ones which weren’t eaten as they were peeled made it into this Chestnut Soup – which is basically Autumn in a bowl!
I also added the flesh from the Halloween pumpkins but you could instead add squash or even carrots. This helps add some bulk to the soup and another layer of flavour. This serves four easily and thanks to the protein in the chestnuts is surprisingly filling too. I have garnished mine with some of the leftover pumpkin seeds roasted with maple syrup but it’s also delicious with some finely chopped chestnut or even a drizzle of olive oil.
Chestnut Soup
Ingredients
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 chopped stick of celery
- 200g peeled and cubed pumpkin or squash or carrot
- 250g roasted, shelled chestnuts roughly chopped
- 1 vegetable stock cube made with a litre of boiling water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Step 1 Place all the ingredients into a saucepan except the seasoning.
- Step 2 Bring to the boil then simmer until all the vegetables are soft (the smaller they are the quicker this will be). This will take around 10mins.
- Step 3 Blend with a hand blender or in a liquidizer.
