Creme de Castanhas (Portuguese Chestnut Soup)
- Prep
- 5 min
- Total
- 43 min
- Servings
- 6
- Calories
- 235 kcal
Creme de castanhas is a velvety autumn soup: chestnuts cooked with onion, leek and a touch of aniseed, then blended until creamy. It takes about 40 minutes and works just as well with frozen chestnuts.
The chestnuts give it a natural sweetness and a velvety texture; the leek and aniseed balance the flavor.
Recipe
Creme de Castanhas
A velvety chestnut soup with onion, leek and a touch of aniseed. A comforting autumn soup, easy even with frozen chestnuts.
Ingredients
Method
- 1Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a pot. Add a chopped onion, stir, then slice a leek and add it.
- 2Cook until soft.
- 3Add 600 grams of peeled chestnuts.
- 4Season with salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and a teaspoon of ground aniseed.
- 5Stir and let it fry lightly.
- 6Pour in half a liter of vegetable stock and add more water if needed.
- 7Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
- 8Turn off the heat, add 1 tablespoon of butter and 4 dl of cream and blend well with a stick blender until very creamy.
Peeling fresh chestnuts
Cut a cross in the flat side of each chestnut. Boil them for 10 minutes or roast them at 200 °C (400 °F) for 20 minutes, and peel them while still hot; once cold, the inner skin sticks.
Serving ideas
Nutmeg is the classic spice, and freshly ground black pepper balances the sweetness of the chestnuts. For a special dinner, top each bowl with crumbled toasted chestnuts, crisp cured ham or mushrooms sautéed in butter.
