Chestnut & Sage Soup

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I made this Chestnut & Sage Soup for my Christmas Eve vegetarian dinner party. It’s a River Cottage recipe that I also saw Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall make whilst at the ‘Taste of Christmas’ show.

I found it really easy to make and it was really creamy and delicious – almost mushroomy in flavour. I also made some garlic and herb crostini to accompany the soup – I like croutons in my soup – they add a nice crunch and are a little more exciting than plain old bread for dunking!

Take a look at our other Easy Soup Recipes next.

I did cheat and buy some ready-made vegetable stock, but making your own is very easy – I just didn’t have time when I made the soup!

Begin by heating 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the butter in a pan over medium-low heat and sweat the onions for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent.

Add the roughly chopped sage and sauté for a minute.

Add the chestnuts, but reserve a handful for garnishing, then add the stock.

Season with salt and pepper then increase the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before using a handheld blender to blitz everything smooth. You could also use a blender or food processor.

Once smooth, add the crème fraîche and adjust the season if needed. Return the soup to the heat and warm through gently, but don’t allow it to boil.

Slice up your reserved chestnuts. In a small frying pan, heat up a little olive oil and sauté some sage leaves for a few seconds until crisp. Drain them on kitchen paper.

I served my soup from a tureen, but you can dish up into the bowls and sprinkle in the sliced chestnuts and sage leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.

To make the crostini, slice the ciabatta into 1cm pieces and lay on a greased baking tray, then drizzle over some olive oil and bake for about 10 minutes until golden. Cut the garlic clove in half and using the cut side, rub it all over the bread. Sprinkle over the chopped herbs. All done!

Serve the crostini on the side, or float on top of the soup. Delicious!

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Chestnut & Sage Soup with Garlic Herb Crostini

Yield: 4

A delicious winter soup that is full of flavour and great to serve at Holiday meals.

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Ingredients

• 3 Tbsps olive oil, divided
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 sage leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra to garnish
• 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 L/2 pints vegetable broth/stock
• 400 g/14 oz cooked, peeled chestnuts, roughly chopped, divided
• 100ml/3 fl oz crème fraîche
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Garlic & Herb Crostini

• 1 ciabatta loaf, sclied into 1cm/¼" thick pieces
• 1 garlic clove
• Olive oil
• Rosemary and sage finely chopped

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive and the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Sweat onions for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent.
2. Add chopped sage and garlic and sauté for one minute.
3. Reserve a handful of chestnuts and add the rest to the pan with the vegetable broth/stock. Finely chop reserved chesnuts for serving
4. Season with salt and pepper as required and increase the heat to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove from heat and use handhled blender to blend to a smooth consistency.
6. Stir in crème fraîche and return to a low heat to warm through.
7. Heat another tablespoon of olive oil in a small fry pan and sauté some whole sage leaves for a few seconds until crisp. Drain on paper towel.
8. Meanwhile make crostini. Lay ciabatti slices onto a greased baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 200C/400F/Gas 6 for 8-10 minutes until golden.
9. Cut garlic clove in half and use the cut side to rub over the toasted bread. Sprinkle over chopped herbs.
10. To serve soup, ladle into warmed bowls. Sprinkle chopped chestnuts, and top with a crostini and fried sage leaf.

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