Roasted Chestnut Soup with Thyme Cream

Roasted Chestnut Soup with Thyme Cream

Found on myrecipes.com

10 Servings

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole roasted bottled chestnuts

• 2 cups chopped yellow onion

• 3/4 cup thinly sliced carrot

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 6 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

• 5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Preparation

•  Preheat oven to 400°.

• Place chestnuts on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Place chestnuts in a large bowl; cool to room temperature.

•  Combine onion, carrot, and oil on pan; toss to coat vegetables. Bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add to chestnuts; stir in broth. Pour half of the broth mixture into a blender; blend until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into a Dutch oven. Repeat procedure with remaining broth mixture. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place pan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.

•  Place cream in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt; beat at high speed until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Ladle about 3/4 cup soup into each of 10 bowls; top each serving with about 1 tablespoon cream. Sprinkle with thyme. Serve immediately.

Chestnut Coquina Squash Soup with Porcini Mushrooms

Chestnut Coquina Squash Soup with Porcini Mushrooms

From Vikalinka

Ingredients

• Pancetta or bacon- 50 gr.

• Red Onions- 2

• Coquina Squash- 1

• Fresh Thyme- a few sprigs

• Dried Porcini Mushrooms (or any other dried mushrooms)-40 gr/1/4 cup

• Olive oil- 1 tbsp.

• Chestnut puree- 400 gr/15 oz can

• Chilli flakes (optional)- 1/4 tsp.

• Stew Mix (barley, split peas, and lentils) or barley- 1/4 cup

• Chicken stock- 1 1/2 liters

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cut your bacon into 1 cm pieces, peel, deseed and dice your squash into 1 cm dice as well, peel and chop your onions and remove thyme leaves from the sprigs. Soak the dried mushrooms in a cup of boiling water for 5 minutes.

Set a large pot on the stove and heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in it, then cook your bacon over medium heat, add onions, chili flakes if using, and thyme and cook for about 5 minutes until onions are softened.

Now add squash, barley, and lentil mix and stir to lightly coat the ingredients with oil.

Lastly add your pureed chestnuts, dried mushrooms with the liquid (make sure none of the grit gets in there) and chicken stock, a pinch of salt and pepper, turn the heat up, and bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes.

Check if your squash is cooked at the end, remove 1/2 of the soup and blend it in a food processor, then return it back to the pot and combine for a thicker texture. Alternatively, you can blend all of it if you prefer a smoother soup but I love having a bit of roughness to it.

Serve with lightly toasted bread and a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream.

This recipe was adapted from Jamie Oliver’s “Jamie’s Great Britain”.

Pumpkin Chestnut Soup

Pumpkin Chestnut Soup

From Martha Stewart

Serves 10

Directions

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions; cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the stock, pumpkin, potatoes, and chestnuts; simmer over medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.

In batches, process the mixture in a food processor until smooth (if the soup is too thick, gradually add more stock). Season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir in cream to taste, and garnish with pumpkin seeds, if desired.

Cook’s Notes

To roast pumpkins, cut them in half, and brush with olive oil; place cut sides down on a baking sheet, and bake in a 400-degree oven until flesh is soft and slightly caramelized. Make large batches, and tuck it away in the freezer for up to 1 year; don’t add the cream until after you thaw and reheat it.

Mushroom, Chestnut, Thyme, and Couscous Salad

Mushroom, Chestnut, Thyme, and Couscous Salad

Found on ledelicieux.com

Prep time 15 min  Cook Time 15 min Total Time 30 min

Serves 2 as a light lunch or serves 4 as a side dish.

Ingredients

• 200g of couscous

• 250ml of hot vegetable stock

• 200g of mushrooms, sliced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 small brown onion, peeled and sliced

• 1 cup of silverbeet (chard) leaves shredded

• juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• 4 chestnuts

• 2 tsp of freshly picked thyme leaves

• salt and pepper

Instructions

• Begin by preparing the chestnuts. Carefully score a cross into the flat side of the chestnuts with a sharp knife. Make sure the knife cuts through the outer shell of the chestnuts as this will help them peel back under the heat of the grill making the removal of the shell easier.

• Turn on the grill and place the chestnuts on a tray under the heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them and you will notice the shell will start to peel back on the nuts. Don’t worry if parts of them burn as this is just the outer shell.

• Remove the chestnuts from the heat and wrap them in a clean tea towel. When cool peel, making sure to remove the outer shell and the inner pellicle. Chop and set aside.

• Place the vegetable stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and place the couscous in a large bowl and pour the hot stock over the top. Stir to combine and then cover with cling film and set aside.

• Place a frying pan over medium-low heat and add the olive oil and onions. Sautee the onions until they begin to slightly caramelize. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, and silverbeet, stir to combine, and then remove from the heat before adding the lemon juice.

• Remove the cling film from the couscous and using a fork carefully fluff up the couscous. Add the mushroom mixture along with the chestnuts and mix to combine. Adjust seasonings as necessary and serve warm or at room temperature.

Bean, Tahini, and Chestnut Salad

Bean, Tahini, and Chestnut Salad

From Green Kitchen Stories

Serves 4

If chestnuts are not in season you can swap them for some freshly roasted walnuts. If you use canned beans they of course don’t have to be cooked again, just rinse them thoroughly.

Ingredients

Bean Salad

200 g chestnuts

500 g mixed beans (we used cooked black beans, cooked white beans, cooked fava beans and sprouted mung beans)

1 bunch of winter spinach, torn in big pieces

2 avocados, diced

1 apple, diced

2 purple carrots, sliced

1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

Tahini Dressing

2 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)

4 tbsp olive oil (or 3 tbsp water)

1 tbsp raw honey2 tbsp lemon juice

sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F/200°C.
2. Use a small sharp knife to cut a cross into the skin of the chestnuts. Put them in a pan and roast until the skin opens and the insides are tender about 30 min.
3. Meanwhile, combine the beans in a big bowl, and add spinach, avocados, apples, and carrots. Set aside and start preparing the dressing.
4. Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until it becomes creamy. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
5. Remove the chestnuts from the oven. Peel them while they are warm and add half of them to the salad.
6. Add also half of the dressing, and toss everything until well combined. Top with a bunch of fresh cilantro.
7. Serve with some warm chestnuts and dressing on the side.

Chestnut Pear Blue Cheese and Dandelion Salad

Chestnut Pear Blue Cheese and Dandelion Salad

 From Amelia Crook

How to Roast Chestnuts

Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F. With a sharp pairing knife, make an incision around the middle of the nut, cutting through the shell and a little bit into the flesh. This will stop the nut from exploding in the oven. Place the slit nuts onto a rimmed baking tray and bake for 35 minutes. The shells will open up during the cooking process, allowing you to pull off the outer shell and remove the skin from the sweet flesh of the nut. Shell the nuts while they’re still hot, as it gets harder the cooler they are.

Ingredients

• Several slices of crisp, fresh red pear
• A chunk of mild blue cheese, crumbled

• Enough bitter leaves like dandelion to sit nicely on the plate

• A handful of roasted shelled and peeled chestnuts (or lightly toasted walnuts)

• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Dressing

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Method: To prepare the chestnuts (skip if using walnuts):

Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Saute chestnuts with salt and pepper, stirring, until the chestnuts are golden brown and a bit crunchy on the outside, about 4 minutes (cook too long and they’ll go hard on the inside, which you don’t want).

To make the dressing: Place all the ingredients into a small jar with a lid and shake.

To assemble the salad: Arrange the salad ingredients on a nice plate and drizzle the dressing over the top.

Cream of Chestnut Soup

Cream of Chestnut Soup

Ingredients

8 oz. chopped pre-cooked peeled Dunstan Chestnuts

2 cups milk

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

¼ cup butter

1 minced onion

½ cup diced celery

1/8 cup dry white wine

1 cup half & half

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Directions

Melt butter and simmer onions until soft. Add flour, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Slowly add milk and chestnuts and simmer 10 min, Mash the chestnuts once lightly during simmering. Add the wine and cream; heat for several minutes but don’t allow to boil. Serves 4-6.

Traditional Chestnut Soup

Traditional Chestnut Soup

Ingredients

6 tbsp butter or margarine

2 lbs of pre-cooked peeled Dunstan Chestnuts

1 small carrot

1 cup chopped celery

1 chopped onion

7 cup chicken broth or bouillon

½ cup red wine

nutmeg

Directions

Sauté chestnuts in 4 Tbs butter for 10 min. In a large pot, sauté onion, celery in remaining butter until tender. Add stock and bring to a boil. Add carrot and chestnuts and simmer for 15 min. Add wine and simmer a few more minutes. Puree soup in food processor. Return to pot and add salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg to taste. Simmer 10-15 min, stirring frequently. Serves 10-12.

Chestnut Appetizer

Chestnut Appetizer

Sauté pre-cooked peeled Dunstan Chestnuts in olive oil until golden, sprinkle lightly with Tabasco to taste, and add a dash of paprika. A real treat!

Poach chestnuts in red wine (Zinfandel or Chianti) with some bay leaves and a bit of water, until al dente’. Fabulous!