CHESTNUT SOUP

Here comes soul-food for the cold days.

http://www.wineberserkers.com/content/?p=2082


Save water, drink wine
Martin

Thanks for the recipe Martin.

I also make chestnut soup, but I use mushrooms as well to amp up the complexity. I also tend to omit the cream; I find the chestnuts give the soup a wonderfully rich texture.

Be good!

Corey,

to add mushrooms is a good idea, I will keep it in mind. Regarding heavy cream, in Europe we always add heavy cream to soups. That´s tradition.


Cheers,
Martin

Martin:

I’m sure the cream is an excellent addition, but I am (a) lactose intolerant an (b) in a constant struggle to shed excess weight.

I really enjoy your recipe posts. Many thanks.

I use 1/2 onion and some leeks. No cinnamon but more nutmeg. Sometimes add a dash of chestnut liquer.

Yep; this is how I do it: chestnuts, celery, onions, dried mushrooms, and vegetable / mushroom stock. Finish with some sherry just before serving. Really delicious.

That’s pretty much the recipe I use as well. I don’t bother measuring quantities, just use what’s on hand and then puree the heck out of everything and it’s good to go, although always better after it sits a day. I usually throw some chopped shrooms on top as a garnish.

What type of sherry do you use?

Usually an Amontillado. But, it ends up being dictated by what I can find without too much difficulty- just something with a little sweetness but not at the PX end of the spectrum.

And I am always too lazy to do a garnish… Other than maybe a dollop of creme fraiche or something if I have it on hand.

Total volume?

Vin jaune is an excellent match for chestnut soup.

I made the NY Times chestnut soup and it was really watery. I kept on adding chestnuts but never got it to thicken up. The flavor was good, but I thought it was going to have more body.

Was that a Mark Bittman recipe? I initially used his for the idea, but all along I figured 10 chestnuts was not enough, so I used the whole package. I typically don’t measure – use as much chestnut/mushroom as I have and then adjust the broth accordingly to get it to my desired consistency.

It was. I bought a vacuum packed unit of chestnuts and ended up using the whole thing, about 20 chestnuts total. Still was runny.

I like very concentrated flavors, so I usually use 2 packages of chestnuts if they are in the vacuum pack -or- one jar.

Adding mushrooms will make the soup thicker and add flavor.

For the record, I used 2 packages of vacuumed chestnuts (500g).

Again, how much does this make? Either total volume or number of servings? If the latter, what size are those servings?