Cozy chestnut soup: a recipe to vanquish the cold
And lots more about chestnuts - stuffing's just the start
Bonjour! Bonjour!
I promised myself that I wouldn’t start this story with the lyric, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” But just saying that I won’t use the line, doesn’t stop it from playing in my brain. In fact, the melody skips through my head almost daily as I walk around Paris, turn a corner and come upon a chestnut vendor standing behind his pushcart, the brazier glowing, the rack above it covered with chestnuts, their mahogany-colored shells curling where they were cut, their aroma promising warmth. Who wouldn’t break into song!
From late fall through winter, chestnuts are almost their own food group in France. In America we think of them at Thanksgiving and Christmas and then hardly ever after, but here they’re as much a staple in pantries as they are in patisseries. If I run out of sweet chestnut cream at midnight, the corner convenience store will have a tin on the shelf. They might also have the crème in a tube (just like tomato paste) – a squeeze on a piece of toast or a square of chocolate is a nice treat.
It's possible that we Americans don’t have the same affection for chestnuts that the French and Italians do because the nut isn't as prevalent in the States as it is in Europe – American chestnut trees were almost wiped out by a blight in the late 1800s, so we didn’t grow up with the taste. And we didn’t grow up with an abundance of chestnut-based dishes, in part because the nuts (they’re actually fruits, but that’s a whole other thing) were scarce and expensive. Happily, things have changed a bit – efforts to replant the forests coupled with talented chefs wanting to showcase native foods, means that chestnuts are more available and our appetite for them has grown.
Chestnuts in France
In an everyday supermarket in Paris, I can find fresh chestnuts ready to roast; cooked whole chestnuts either vacuum-packed or in a jar (I always have some in my cupboard); chestnut puree; sweet chestnut cream – in a can or tube; chestnut flour; and chestnut honey (so good mixed into a cake batter or drizzled over cheese).
Chestnut cream, flour and honey in a Paris supermarket
These supermarket ingredients inspire soups (scroll down for a recipe!), stuffings, braises and sautés; puddings, custards, ice creams and tart fillings; pancakes, crepes (you can make a great socca-type pancake with chestnut rather than chickpea flour) and even scones - I’ll have a recipe for those on Friday.
There are two kinds of chestnuts that turn up on labels in France: marrons and chataignes. Marrons are the hefty ones that come one to a shell; and chataignes are the smaller ones that often grow three-to-a-pod. And aren’t their prickly outer casings beautiful? The chestnuts available in the United States tend to be the larger marrons.
Marrons on the left (Westend61/Getty) and chataignes on the right (heyong/Getty)
Buying and storing chestnuts and their kin
Chestnuts in all these forms are findable in the States – you just might have to look a little longer or go a little further than your local grocery.
If you’re buying fresh chestnuts, pick the ones with shiny shells. You can tell that a chestnut is fresh by squeezing it – if you can feel air between the nut and the shell, move onto the next one. The nut should fill the shell completely and the chestnut should feel hefty. When you get them home, store them in the fridge or, if you’re not going to use them soon, pop them into the freezer.
Tins and jars of chestnuts can be kept at room temperature, and chestnut flour is best stored in the refrigerator.
How to cook fresh chestnuts
Before you cook the chestnuts, you’ve got to partially open the shell in some way – either cut an X in the shell or slice away a strip of the shell. If you don’t make an opening in the shell, you risk having the chestnut explode, something that’s not as dangerous as it sounds, but just as messy as you’d imagine.
If you’ll be eating the chestnuts out of hand or want to use them in a stuffing, sauté them as a side dish or chop them for a topping, you’ll probably want to roast them. Preheat the oven to 375F, lay the chestnuts out on a baking sheet, and roast them for 30 minutes or so, until the shells curl and open. Leave them on the baking sheet until they’re just cool enough to handle, then peel away the shell and the papery skin beneath it. Don’t let the chestnuts cool completely – you’ll have a harder time peeling and skinning them.
Peeling roasted chestnuts (photo Anjelika Gretskaia/Getty)
If you want to use the chestnuts in a soup or a purée, you might want to boil or steam them until their shells are peelable. Figure about 30 minutes and don’t forget to remove the skin when you’re taking off the shells.
Zuzhing up chestnuts
When I was working with Pierre Hermé on our first book together, he described chestnut’s flavor as “linear” – and he was right. There are no highs or lows with chestnuts, no flavor fluctuations, no surprises. From first bite to last, the chestnut’s flavor is unswervingly the same. This is a fact, not a criticism, and an invitation to us cooks and bakers to bring more flavor to whatever dish we’re making.
Vanilla is the classic flavoring for chestnuts – it’s even what flavors canned chestnut crème. On the sweet side, chestnuts are also good with maple syrup and honey and really good with chocolate and coffee. On both the sweet and savory side, they pair exceedingly well with whiskey and brandy and can be nice with orange.
Chestnuts’ marquee moments
Of course, chestnuts shine in pastries. The most famous chestnut pastry is the Mont Blanc from Angelina made with sweet chestnut cream (remember it from last week?), but chestnut is a favorite filling for bûches de Noël and it’s frequently used in tarts.
Mont Blancs from Christophe Michelak and Angelina
You often see pears paired with chestnut in Parisian pastries. Here's the Tarte Marrons Poire from Arnaud Lahrer that features almond cream, Kirsch (another good and frequently seen flavor in chestnut desserts), pears and chestnut "vermicelles" with bits of nougat and candied chestnut on top.
Tarte Marrons Poire (chestnut + pear) from Arnaud Lahrer
The most famous (and expensive) chestnut candy is marrons glacés, large chestnuts infused in a long and intricate process with sugar syrup. They're so special (and so saturated with syrup) that they’re individually wrapped in heavy foil.
Marrons glacés from Patrick Roger
And the most unusual preparation – at least to me – using marrons glacés comes from the master fromager, Laurent Dubois: a Crémeux topped with candied chestnuts. It is, as its name implies, a creamy cheese, but it’s also a somewhat mysterious one. It’s a cow’s milk cheese, but it’s fluffy and light, almost like an elegant cheesecake, but not. It’s sweet, but it’s not clear what makes it sweet. And it’s topped with pieces of marrons glacés. It could be served as part of a traditional cheese plate with bread, or it could be served with a spoon as dessert. It’s a revelation.
Crémeux with candied chestnuts from Laurent Dubois
Chestnut recipes to make at home
Last week, in addition to having that fabulous cheese from Dubois, I made chestnut soup with celery root and apples. It was thick and naturally sweet, comforting and non-linear – the herbs, nutmeg and celery root pulled it in different directions, all of them tasty and cozy. It’s a soup with charms to counter winter’s bluster.
So roast some chestnuts. Sing, if you’d like. Make some soup. Sit by the fire, if you’ve got one. And come back on Friday – I’ve got chestnut-flour scones on the menu (a buckwheat variation, too).
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Chestnut, Celery Root and Apple Soup
Adapted from The Café Boulud Cookbook by Daniel Boulud and Dorie Greenspan
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion (I usually use a Spanish onion), peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium leek, white and light green part, split, washed, dried and thinly sliced
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 sweet apples, such as McIntosh, Gala or Fuji, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
10 ounces (285 grams) celery root, peeled and cut into small chunks
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
A few scrapings of fresh nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound (340 grams) peeled fresh chestnuts (from about 1 1/4 pounds/565 grams chestnuts in the shell) or 3/4 pound (340 grams) dry-packed bottled or vacuum-sealed peeled chestnuts (which is what I use)
7 cups (about 1 3/4 liters) chicken or vegetable broth, plus additional for thinning, if needed
Heavy cream or crème fraîche, optional
Chopped parsley and/or snipped chives, optional
Set a large pot over medium heat, pour in the oil, followed by the onion, leek and shallots, apples, celery root, thyme, bay leaves and nutmeg. Season with a little salt and pepper and give everything a good stir to coat with oil. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, but not colored, about 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can cover the pan, lower the heat and cook to soften – less stirring needed. Add the chestnuts and broth, increase the heat and then, when the liquid comes to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Partially cover the pot and cook gently for about 40 minutes, or until the chestnuts are soft enough to mash easily with a fork. Fish out and discard the thyme and bay leaves.
The soup needs to be pureed. You can do this with a blender, immersion or countertop, or in a food processor. Work in batches, if necessary, and try to get the soup as smooth as possible. If it needs it or if you want to, you can press the pureed soup through a strainer. If the soup seems too thick, add some broth; if it seems too thin (it's a matter of your preference), return it to the pot and cook it down a bit. Taste and add more salt and/or pepper, if you’d like.
If you’ve added more broth and/or if your soup is not piping hot, reheat it gently.
To serve: If you’d like, drizzle the soup with heavy cream or top with a small spoonful of crème fraîche and sprinkle with herbs.
To store: The soup can be cooled completely and stored in a covered container in the fridge for about 4 days, or frozen for up to a month. Bring the soup to a boil before serving. Because chestnuts are starchy, like potatoes (although they’re surprisingly low in calories), the soup thickens as it cools or sits. To restore its consistency, thin it with broth or water.
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