Rich chestnut aroma, refined truffle, soft cream, zesty lemon and hot pepper: this velvety Chestnut-Truffle-Cream Soup shows the best part of winter – complex in flavor but simple to make.

Recipe:

Shopping list for 4 portions

250g chestnuts
3 shallots
0,5 L beef stock
250 mL cream
200 mL crème faiche (or you can use sour cream with a 15% or higher fat content)
1 tbs. truffle oil (don’t worry if you don’t have it)
1 lemon
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch salt
3 tsp. butter

Preparation Time: approx. 30 minutes

Directions for the Chestnut- Truffle-Cream Soup:

If the chestnuts you bought still have the shell on, first remove the shells. To do this you make an ‘X’ with a sharp knife in each chestnut. Put the chestnuts on a baking sheet (lined with baking paper). Place in oven at 392 Fahrenheit and bake until the shells start to peel away – around 10 minutes. Then you can peel the shells off with your fingers. (Make sure they are cool enough to touch first)

While the chestnuts are in the oven, peel the shallots and chop them finely. Heat the butter in a pan, then sweat the shallots in the butter. Add the chestnuts and after 3 minutes add the beef stock. Simmer until the chestnuts have softened.

Add the cream and crème fraiche and puree. If you want a very fine soup, you can then pass it through a sieve. But without it, the soup has a bit more charm: we have not passed it through a sieve.

Add lemon, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a splash of truffle oil or grated truffles and with a dollop of crème fraiche.

And as simple as that, you have a delicious winter soup: Bon appétit!