I love autumn and among my favorite ingredients of this season are chestnuts. If I think about the dishes I like to enjoy during this period, well… creams, soups, and broths easily win. And so here I am suggesting a chesnut and potato cream to which I’ve added a touch of mushrooms. Honestly, only pumpkin is missing, and it would have all the flavors and scents of this wonderful season. But let’s get back to the recipe, which I feel like calling a true October and November treat. It is super creamy, fragrant, and full of flavor thanks to the contrast between the sweetness of the chestnuts, the delicacy of the potatoes, and the distinctive note of dried mushrooms. A dish that is prepared with few ingredients and provides immediate comfort. Finally, a touch (just a touch) of cream to bind everything together because, let’s admit it, a cream soup, to be called such, must have that silky smoothness that only cream can give. Serve it with a bit of good oil and some crumbled chestnuts, and you’ll taste the goodness.
Other creams I recommend you try:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 20 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn
Ingredients for the Chesnut Cream Soup
The cooking time indicated above does not include the time for boiling the chestnuts. The ingredients mention already boiled and peeled chestnuts. Below, however, I will explain how to make them.
- 10.6 oz chestnuts (already boiled and peeled)
- 10.6 oz potatoes (weight after peeling)
- 0.35 oz dried mushrooms
- Half onion
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2.5 cups liquids (between broth and mushroom soaking water)
- 1.35 tbsp fresh liquid cream
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
Tools
- 1 Small Bowl
- 1 Strainer fine-mesh
- 1 Potato Peeler
- 1 Saucepan with lid
- 1 Immersion Blender
Preparation of the Chesnut Cream Soup
In this recipe, you need already boiled and peeled chestnuts. I did this the night before. I quickly rinsed them under running water, then placed them in a saucepan and covered them with cold water. Then I placed the lid and cooked them for 40 minutes. The cooking time naturally depends on the size of your chestnuts. They will be ready when you can pierce them with a fork. Be careful, however, that they don’t become too soft. After the first 40 minutes, check them often.
Once cooked, drain them, transfer them onto a cloth and dry them well. Then remove not only the shell but also the underlying skin. I assure you this is the most annoying and tedious part of the recipe. Then crumble them coarsely. Set aside some pieces for the final decoration of the dishes.
Soak the dried mushrooms in lukewarm water for about twenty minutes. Then drain and chop them with a mezzaluna or a knife. Filter the soaking water through a fine-mesh strainer lined with gauze and set it aside. This water will be an excellent reinforcement for our broth.
Peel the potatoes, wash them, and cut them into chunks.
In a saucepan, melt a knob of butter in a few tablespoons of oil, then add the chopped onion and let it soften on low heat without coloring.
Then, add the potatoes and chopped mushrooms and let them flavor for a couple of minutes.
At this point, add the crumbled chestnuts and pour 2.5 cups of (hot) liquid into the saucepan between mushroom soaking water and broth. For example, I had 1 cup of soaking water and added 1.5 cups of broth.
Cover and continue cooking over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it dries too much, add more hot broth. I didn’t have to do it.
When cooking is finished, remove a bit of the cooking liquid and set it aside. This is precisely the secret to obtaining a perfect cream soup. I remind you that it is always possible to add it later if needed.
At this point, blend everything with an immersion blender until you get a smooth and homogeneous cream (if it’s too thick, add some of the removed liquid). Add the cream and season with salt and pepper.
A final stir and the chesnut and potato cream soup is ready to be served.
Serve it in individual dishes, sprinkle with the crumbled chestnuts set aside, season with freshly ground black pepper, drizzle with a little raw oil, and serve hot. Enjoy! Paola.
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