More chestnuts

Somewhere I have a book about soups but I rarely actually look at a recipe I just see what ingredients I have and then make up whatever takes my fancy, adding herbs and spices as I go! This isn’t the season for chestnuts but I was writing about a recipe using them and then came across chestnut soup… it sounds strange, but intriguing. Along with this recipe is another for chestnut purée which includes onions… curious… here it is, followed by chestnut soup:

Chestnut purée

• 1½ lbs chestnuts, baked, shelled and skinned
• 2 large onions., chopped
• 2 oz butter
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• zest of ½ lemon
• 3 tsp sugar
•  3 tsp meat extract
• salt and pepper

1. melt the butter and fry peeled chestnuts and onions for five mins
2. add bay leaf, zest, meat extract, 2 pints of boiling water and simmer for ½ hour
3. rub through a sieve or blitz in a blender
4. add sugar and season to taste
5. put parsley in the serving dish and pour on the purée, serve with croutons

Chestnut soup

• ½ lb chestnuts, boiled for three minutes, shelled and skinned
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1½ pints stock
• 1 oz flour
• 1 oz margarine
• ¾ pint milk

1. add stock, chestnuts and sliced onions to a pan and simmer until tender
2. rub through a sieve or blitz in a blender
3. melt the margarine in a pan, add flour and make a roux
4. add milk to make a white sauce then add the chestnut and onion puree
5. heat gently until it comes to the boil, add seasoning and serve