Simplicity of the Chestnut (Soup)

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that shelling a blanched (or roasted) chestnut is not the easiest task, but in my experience, it is well worth the effort. Roasted chestnuts have only just made their way into the Chicago branch of the Tytenicz family, and thus far, I am the only Tytenicz Chicagoan who consumes chestnuts with gusto rather than with disdain and reluctance. Unlike a walnut or hazelnut, cooked chestnuts are starchy, sweet, and somewhere between soft and crumbly/crunchy. While I love to nibble on chestnuts straight from roasting or blanching, I equally love to throw them into pasta, pairing their sweetness with smoky bacon. And soup! There are only a million and one chestnut soup recipes to be found, most listing chicken stock or rich vegetable stock as an ingredient -- much too fussy for me. The more I learn about cooking, the less I want to depend on any kind of pre-fab stock or broth to boost a bowl of soup. There are places for strongly-flavored chicken stock -- chicken and lime soup; garlic soup; creamy chicken and rice soup. . . So many soup recipes recommend tossing one kind of stock or another (chicken being the most popular) into vegetable-based soups. I adapted to this norm until out of laziness and some sort of defiance, I decided not to rely on a bag of frozen chicken broth. And my sheer snobbishness has trained my palate to abhor chicken broth in its canned form.

After almost a year of writing about food and into my second year of cooking for someone besides me, after seeing the glee on Shane's face when he eats something so simple rather than little fussy vittles that required a plethora of ingredients and three pans of three different sizes, slowly I am re-educating myself to understand food in its simplest form. Perfectly cooked chestnuts, potatoes, carrots, onions, and a touch of celery blended into a velvety smooth potage and served with good quality country bread that has been toasted and buttered -- really, it does not take much to produce quality of flavor. And oh goodness, it fits the bill of simplicity. Let the vegetables speak for themselves, and leave the chicken stock to the chickens.

As for the extra liquid this soup may produce, I call it vegetable broth and freeze it. Admittedly I am still in training, so I may need to enhance my carrot soup sometime.

Before preparing the soup, I took the time to blanch raw chestnuts in a pot of boiling water. To blanch, set the chestnuts on a hard surface, flat side down. With a serrated knife, score each chestnut with one or two cuts made into an X. Simmer chestnuts in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove chestnuts, and while they are still warm (but cooled enough to handle), peel the skins off where the cuts were made. For chestnuts that seem impossible to peel or that still have their skin clinging to the meat, use a sharp knife to just peel that baby off. If this seems daunting, pre-cooked and peeled chestnuts found in some grocery stores and specialty stores will do the trick. If I remember correctly, Whole Foods carries chestnuts in their canned bean aisle. If roasting the chestnuts instead of blanching them seems more romantic, About.com has some handy, dandy suggestions and how-to tips.

Chestnut Soup
Serves 3-4

20 raw chestnuts, blanched (or roasted) and shelled
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large boiling potato or 3 small ones, peeled and chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 slim stalk of celery, leaves and all, chopped
Salt and pepper
3-6 slices good quality country bread
Butter

Prepare chestnuts as described in the above paragraph. Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a soup pot. Add the shelled chestnuts, potato, carrots and onion. Sauté until onion starts to wilt and the chestnuts brown a bit, about 5 minutes or so. Add celery with its leaves and sauté another minute or so. Salt the mixture and stir to distribute evenly. Add enough water to cover the vegetables by an inch, scraping any bits that cling to the bottom of the pot as the water is added. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and let the soup simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Let mixture cool just a bit (or refrigerate over night), and in a blender, puree the vegetables in their simmering water. Please hold the lid of the blender if the soup is still a little warm as the top may blow from the heat. Blend the soup in batches if necessary. Return soup to the pot, reheat and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.

Toast slices of bread, slap them with butter, and line the bottom of serving bowls, tearing bread as needed to fit into the bowl. Ladle soup over the bread, drizzle the top with olive oil and serve while still nice and hot.

Any simmering water that is not needed to thin the soup makes a great vegetable broth that can be frozen for later.