This creamy chestnut soup, or “Soupe Aux Marrons” is a wholesome soup and a French favorite all throughout Winter. Fresh chestnuts are simmered in an aromatic broth and then pureed until smooth, creating a luxuriously thick, creamy texture with the full-on sweet buttery taste of fresh chestnuts. This is a delicious starter to cozy up to and impress with over the Holiday season.

Indeed, this soup recipe takes a simplistic approach and is all about allowing the taste of fresh, seasonal chestnuts shine. After being peeled, fresh chestnuts are simmered on their own in an aromatic stock until tender, pureed and enriched with a dollop of cream – and that’s it. The idea is to process fresh chestnuts as little as possible, to keep their taste and unique creamy texture intact. This is why I recommend using the freshest, uncooked, in-shell chestnuts – which will deliver the best flavor. 

However as an alternative, when chestnuts are not in season – for convenience or perhaps for affordability – you can use cooked, peeled chestnuts – often coming in a can, jar or sous-vide. These chestnuts won’t come with the same freshness, but they will still result in a deliciously creamy soup. 

If you opt for cooked chestnuts (canned, jarred or sous-vide), you will then only use about 800g chestnuts, skip step 1 in the recipe, and only boil chestnuts for about 15-20 minutes in step 2 (instead of 20-25).  

You can find fresh, in-season chestnuts during Fall and early Winter seasons in your grocery store, farmer’s markets and often Italian grocers. When shopping for fresh chestnuts, look for firm and shiny-looking ones. 

It is little known that chestnuts are highly perishable and best kept in your refrigerator – not on your counter at room temperature, where they can get moldy fast. Once refrigerated, chestnuts will keep fresh for about 45 days. 

Once getting your hands on fresh chestnuts, there are two ways to prepare them for peeling: by roasting or boiling them. And because this recipe requires boiled chestnuts, we will focus on the boiling technique. Note that you could also steam chestnuts, but this requires a steamer basket. 

To prepare the chestnuts, start by cutting an “x” through the chestnut shells, using a very sharp paring knife. This will let the shell loosen itself from the nut as it cooks. It will also prevent it from exploding (yes, this does happen).

Place the chestnuts in a large pot and cover them with water. The chestnuts should be completely submerged. Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. The shells should start to pull apart and the chestnut turn slightly tender. Drain the chestnuts and transfer them onto a clean kitchen towel. Wrap the towel around the chestnuts; this will keep the steam inside and soften the peels to make them easier to peel later. 

Once the chestnuts are cool enough to handle, start peeling immediately. There is a short window of time between the chestnuts being cool enough to handle but still humid, tender and easy to peel – and too cool that they start to turn dry and the skins are now difficult to peel. 

Peel the chestnuts by pulling on the shells and snapping them off. Also make sure you remove the brown skin underneath the shell (you may need to scratch it off sometimes). 

Once chestnuts are peeled, at this stage, they should be a pale yellow and somewhat tender. But they aren’t tender or tasty enough to be eaten yet. 

So, now it’s time to make soup! 

After making (and enjoying) this soup – if you have any leftovers – you can store it in the refrigerator or in the freezer.

2lbs (900g) fresh chestnuts (*or 800g peeled, cooked chestnuts - see cooking note above) 3 cups (750ml) low-sodium chicken stock (or vegetable stock) 1 bay leaf 1/2 cup (125ml) heavy cream (35% m.f) ¼ tsp salt ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg Crème fraiche (for garnish) Chive, finely chopped (for garnish)

Step 1 (to unpeel fresh chestnuts, see section above for detailed instructions*) - Score your chestnuts with an “X”, deep enough to cut through the outer skin and transfer the chestnuts to a pot of cold water. Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the chestnuts from the water, wrap them in a kitchen towel and let cool until cool enough to handle and peel the chestnuts.

Reserve about 4-6 chestnuts aside and chop them roughly (for garnish later). Discard the bay leaf.

Step 3 – Using an immersion blender, mix the chestnuts until smooth. – or, working in batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth and return soup to saucepan. Stir in the heavy cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook soup for 3-5 extra minutes until slightly thick. If the soup is too thin for your liking, continue to cook it. If the soup is too creamy-thick for your liking, stir in more water or heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time.

For serving, ladle soup into individual bowls. Top each bowl with 1 tablespoon of crème fraiche, chopped chive and the reserved chopped chestnuts. Enjoy immediately.