François de Mélogue Provencal Recipes Soup Taste

French Christmas Soup Made with Chestnuts

The holidays call for rich dishes full of flavour and lots of love. This quick and easy Christmas soup is packed full of sweet earthy flavours that you can pair with duck confit or shredded pork rillette (or even no meat at all, for the vegetarians!). Chestnuts are highlighted in this delicious soup, a nut introduced by the ancient Romans to France centuries ago. Serve this soup as a side dish, appetizer, or eat it on its own with some buttered crusty bread.

Check out the Pistou and Pastis soup-making video here.

Chestnut Soup for the Holidays

Chef François de Mélogue

This dish is easy to make chestnut soup perfect for holiday celebrating. Whether you're wanting a toasty lunch in front of the fire or a great accompaniment to a holiday meal, this soup is sure to give you what you need.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Course Soup

Cuisine French

Servings people

Equipment

Ingredients

4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 medium Carrot diced
2 stalks Celery diced
1 Sweet Onion diced
2 cups Cooked Chestnuts reserve 4 for garnish
3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
4 cups Chicken Broth
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
Salt & Pepper to taste
4 tbsp Cooked Duck Confit or Pork Rillette
1 tbsp Chopped Parsley
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1-2 tbsp Maple Syrup

Instructions

In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter until foamy. Add the carrots, celery, and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the chestnuts, thyme, stock, and duck confit or pork rillette, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are fully cooked, about 20 minutes. Add the heavy cream and simmer 5 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
In the blender, working in batches, carefully purée the soup until very smooth. As you are blending, season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the maple cream, whip the cream until very firm. Stir in just enough maple syrup to give it a sweet flavour.
Divide the soup among 4 bowls and garnish each with a tablespoon of duck confit, a spoonful of cream, and parsley.

Keyword Chestnut, Christmas Recipe, Holidays, Soups

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Tags:Appetizer,Chestnuts,Christmas,Holiday Menus,Soups

Chef François de Mélogue

François de Mélogue grew up in a very French household in Chicago. His earliest attempts at cookery began with the filleting of his sister’s goldfish at age two and a braised rabbit dish made with his pet rabbits by age seven. He eventually stopped cooking his pets and went to the highly esteemed New England Culinary Institute, where he graduated top of his class in 1985.

Chef François has over 30 years of cross-cultural culinary experience and brings an impressive culinary history and a unique Mediterranean cooking style. After graduating top of his class from the notable New England Culinary Institute, Chef François began his career in a number of highly acclaimed kitchens across the country, including Chef Louis Szathmary’s restaurant The Bakery in Chicago, Old Drovers Inn, a Relais and Chateaux property in New York and Joel Robuchon Gastronomie restaurant in Paris, before opening award-winning restaurant Pili Pili in his hometown of Chicago, rated in the Top Ten new restaurants in the World by Food and Wine magazine in 2003.

Chef François resides in St Albans, Vermont with his wife Lisa and ten-year-old son Beaumont, who has proclaimed himself the family saucier. Chef François' latest publication French Cooking for Beginners: 75+ Classic Recipes to Cook Like a Parisian takes you on a culinary journey well beyond the streets of Paris. Francois is a professional photographer specializing in food/product photography, real estate photography and shooting rural landscapes of Vermont and France. Explore his work on https://www.francoisdemelogue.com/.

Take a look at his website Simple French Cooking filled with delicious recipes and beautiful photos.

French Christmas Soup Made with Chestnuts