The fruits of autumn are a bright spot of what would ordinarily be a dull, gray season. Chestnuts, in particular, are so versatile. They can be served both in savory and sweet dishes, they can be ground into flour or… well everyone knows they are pretty delicious on their own roasted on an open fire.
I present a soup that is embarrassingly simple to make and, thanks to your pressure cooker, it’s fast.. too!
Not everyone can get their hands on fresh, beautiful chestnuts. And if they can, not everyone is that excited to peel them. I have included instructions for using fresh, dried and canned chestnuts.
This is a very rich soup in both flavor and content, so a little goes a long way if you’re planning to use this as an opener to an elaborate dinner.
| Pressure Cooker | Accessories | Pr. Cook Time | Pr. Level | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 L or larger | none | 15-20 min. | High (2) | Natural |
- 1.5 lbs (750g) of Fresh, ½ lb (250g) dry, or 1 lb (500g) of Jarred/vacum-packed Chestnuts (see instructions for each, below)
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 1 stalk Celery, roughly chopped
- 1 Onion, roughly sliced
- 1 sprig Sage
- ¼ tsp. White Pepper
- 1 Bay Laurel Leaf
- 1 Medium Potato, peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 cups (1lt) Chicken Stock
- 2 Tbsp. Rum
- A few scrapes of nutmeg
- Whole Cream
- Fresh Nutmeg shavings
- Sage leaves
- Fresh chestnuts - prepare according to the chestnut truffle recipe . They will be puree'd so there is no need to take any extra care to keep the chestnuts whole.
Dry chestnuts - place in large bowl and cover with about 4 cups (1L) of milk and cover with plastic wrap. Let soak in the refrigerator overnight. Drain and rinse.
Canned chestnuts - drain and rinse.
Vacum-packed chestnuts - rinse.
- In your pre-heated pressure cooker, on medium heat without the lid, add the butter, celery, onion, sage, white pepper and sautee' until the onions are soft (about 5 minutes).
- Add the potato, bay leaf, chestnuts and stock.
- Close and lock the pressure cooker. Turn the heat up high and when the pan reaches pressure, lower the heat and count 15-20 minutes cooking time at HIGH pressure.
- When time is up, release pressure using the Natural method - move the pressure cooker to a cool burner and do not do anything, wait for the pressure to come down on it's own (about 10 minutes). If the pressure has not come down in 10 minutes, release the rest of the pressure using the Normal pressure release - push, twist or lift the button or valve to release pressure.
- Remove the bay leaf, add the Rum, a few gratings of nutmeg and puree the contents of the pressure cooker with an immersion blender.
- Serve with a swirl of fresh cream a fresh nutmeg shavings.
I have some fresh chestnuts in the fridge so now I know what tonight’s dinner will be!
And thanks for the tips on cooking them in a pressure cooker. Sounds so much easier than my usual way..
I had chestnut soup when I was in France a few years ago. It was AMAZING! It had a nutty, buttery taste to it, so you can imagine my excitement to see this recipe pop up. Question: With my allergy to alcohol, would there be a good substitute for the rum? or can I just leave it out all together? Lastly, can the left overs of this be frozen, for say, no longer than a month? Thanks you!
Yes, you can leave out the rum OR check the cake-decorating aisle of your grocery store for “rum flavoring” – and make sure the flavoring is oil and NOT alcohol based. ; )
Ciao,
L
PS, would you consider the use of Beef Stock to replace chicken stock?
The reason the chicken stock is called for is for the lighter color and flavor. You can use beef stock – but usually it’s darker and more concentrated flavor – if your beef stock is like that, dilute it a bit with water before using.
Ciao,
L
Thanks Laura! I’m looking forward to serving this up with a holiday dinner :)
This sounds FABulous!
Tiny detail:
> They will be puree’d so NO need to do extra effort to keep the chestnuts whole.
Missing NO above?
Yes, “No”. Fixed!
Ciao and Thanks!
L
I Just found this recipe… sounds fantastic s the Chestnut season started. Can this be made ahead?
Thank you.
Well, not too far ahead – once the soup is thickened it’s very tricky to re-heat. Perhaps to make it easier have everything prepped and ready to go so you can just dump & go shortly before serving the soup.
Ciao,
L
Ok I love seeing all these yummy recipes for pressure cookers. However, I have a digital one and I don’t know how to convert the instructions to just pressing a button. Any advice is welcome. I want to start trying these recipes. Righ now I hav not don’t the few that came with my cooker.
Jackie, what brand and model do you have? If yours has a “manual” or “custom” cycle you can just punch-in the cooking time – use the longest time in the range given. Everything else is the same. : ) Here is an article that you might find helpful when “translating” a recipe originally written for stovetops to an electric pressure cooker:
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/stovetop-to-electric-pressure-cooker-translator/
Ciao,
L
P.S. The newer recipes on the website have more explicit instructions for electric pressure cookers written right in the recipe.
How many servings does this yield? Sounds delish!
This looks so good! For prepping the fresh chestnuts, is the two tablespoons of sugar required? (I’m reading this from the truffle recipe.) Thank you!
Emma, the recipe does not mention sugar. So no.. it is not required. Maybe you were reading the chestnut dessert recipe and got them confused.
If you were wondering if you HAVE to soak dried chestnuts in milk… no, that is not required. You can simply use water.
Ciao,
L