Chestnut Soup with Amaretto
Submitted by blondlizzy
Rich pureed chestnut soup spiked with amaretto, swirled with cream, and seasoned with nutmeg and cayenne. An elegant starter that turns fresh roasted chestnuts into liquid velvet.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
50 minREADY
70 minThis is not your everyday soup. This is the one you pull out when you want to leave people speechless.
Two pounds of fresh chestnuts, roasted and peeled, simmer with carrots, parsnips, scallions, celery, and garlic in a fragrant stock brightened by a bouquet garni.
Once pureed to silk, a pour of amaretto adds that signature almond sweetness, while heavy cream, a pinch of cayenne, and a grating of nutmeg bring it all into balance.
Swirl a ribbon of cream through each bowl before serving and watch the table go quiet for all the right reasons.
Kitchen Tips
- Score each chestnut with a deep slash before roasting so the shells peel off easily while they’re still warm.
- This soup is intentionally rich, so serve smaller portions as a starter and keep the rest of the meal light.
- A touch of brown sugar rounds out the flavour if your chestnuts lean more starchy than sweet.
Ingredients
Directions
Make a slash in the rounded side of each chestnut and roast in a preheated oven at 400℉ (200℃) for 5 minutes. Peel off the shell and innerskin.
Peel the carrots, parsnip, onion, and garlic.
Finely chop all of the vegetables, including the scallions and celery.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the vegetables and cook for five minutes, or until soft but not brown.
Add the chestnuts, stock, and bouquet garni.
Gently simmer the soup for 40 minutes, or until the chestnuts are very soft.
Remove the bouquet garni and purée the soup in a blender or food pro- cessor.
Return the soup to the saucepan, adding the amaretto, two- thirds of the cream, and salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg to taste; the soup should be very flavorful.
If a sweeter flavor is desired, add a spoonful of brown sugar.
To serve, ladle the chestnut soup into warmed bowls.
Pour a little of the remaining cream into each bowl and marble it into the soup, stirring with a skewer.
Chestnut soup is extremely rich, so keep the rest of the meal simple.
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