This chestnut soup is silky, rich and inviting. Serve it at your holiday parties and people will rave!
Christmas has become such a special time for me. We travel to Tucson, AZ every year to visit my husband’s family. Every year I eagerly anticipate the moment we reach the desert landscape, surrounded by cactus and mountains, warmer weather and amazing food. I love experiencing the holidays through the eyes of his nephews. It’s such a fun trip. I’ll be bringing my camera this year and documenting our vacation. We leave Thursday! On to the recipe…
I grew up hearing songs about chestnuts, but had no idea what they tasted like. They’re delicious! As far as I’m concerned, this is the perfect winter soup. It’s silky, rich and inviting. Serve this chestnut soup at your holiday parties and people will rave.
If you’ve never roasted chestnuts before, removing the shell and skin can be a bit of a chore. They come off easiest when the chestnuts are still hot. I like to smash the hot nuts with the side of my knife like a garlic clove. If you have a really good blender such as a Vitamix
you can get away with leaving some of the skin on. It will soften during the cooking process and blend right into your puree. If you’re using a more standard blender, you may want to strain the soup through a chinois 
or fine mesh strainer before adding the cream.
Creamy Chestnut Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound chestnuts
- olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 large or 2 small carrots, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed
- 1/4 cup sherry, plus extra
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, cut an x into each chestnut, then roast them at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.
- Peel the shell and skin away from the meat of the chestnut (this is easier to do when they're hot).
- In a dutch oven, sweat the onions, carrots and celery with a bit of salt and a bit of olive oil. Allow the veggies to soften.
- Add the chestnuts and thyme leaves.
- When the water is evaporated from the vegetables and a glaze begins to appear on the bottom of the pan, deglaze with 1/4 cup sherry.
- Add the stock and some pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot.
- Allow the soup to simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Carefully ladle the soup into a sturdy blender and puree until silky.
- Return the soup to the pot and stir in the cream on low heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Finish with a splash of sherry.
- Garnish with thyme before serving.
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
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This looks yummy thanks for this. In December, a group of friends to a Christmas Cookie exchange – in January we are doing a Souper Soup Swap – and I will make this to share!!! Always wanting to try new soups!!
That sounds excellent – I’ll have to try it!
Can I ask what a dutch oven is please?:)
I have one similar to this
This sounds SO delicious – and I say that never even had a chestnut. Ever. You’ve convinced me though I must. And your photo is stunning!
Wishing you such a wonderful time with family, such glorious travels through the desert, and happy times with your camera! I’ll anxiously await the visuals! Merry Christmas!
I’ll try this recipe this week!
Greetings from Switzerland
Louis
This chestnut soup sounds good and is so appropriate for this time of the year.
This is a definite recipe for me this week!
Oh you had me at sherry, OK you had me at that photo!
Perfect holiday dish. Looks Yum!
Looks delicious. My daughter wanted to buy chestnuts but I didn’t know what to do with them. Now I do!
Noticed a typo in there with desert. It was probably just a little slip-up that spell check missed. Someone once told me that for sand-related it’s “desert” and if it’s sugar-related, it’s “dessert” with a double “s” because you always want two of those! :) I thought that was a good tip. Now if someone could give me a tip for remembering how to spell vaccuum I’ll be set!
I know the difference, I just wrote dessert out of habit :)
I figured it was probably something like that. And spell check doesn’t pick it up of course. It’s no wonder you have dessert-on-the-brain with so many lovely creations. Safe travels to Tuscon. The American southwest is definitely a magical place. Happy holidays!
To you as well!
amazing idea to have chestnuts in a soup. where does this recipe originally come from?
Well, I didn’t come up with the idea of making chestnut soup, but this particular recipe was created in my kitchen.
I have used chestnuts in soup with other things (mushrooms, etc.), but imagine that this one is great with the chestnuts as stars. And, sherry, yes, love that.
Oh honey, i desperately want to make this, it looks divine!, the colour almost has an aroma.. c
Oh this Creamy Chestnut Soup just look so delicious and definitely comforting. There’s nothing like comforting soup
I love chestnuts, but I usually eat them sweet! They’re more common over in Europe and Asia, I hear.
This soup looks lovely and creamy and delicious, and I wonder if I could skip a lot of the hard work by simply using unsweetened chestnut puree (but then I’d be missing out on those nutty, roasted notes)… hmmm!