I don’t know about you, but I love having soup when the winter turns cold. This chestnut soup is hearty and perfect for the Christmas holidays. The vegetable stock and the carrots in the chestnut soup complement the rich chestnut, making the soup lighter. Another offbeat soup you can try is cauliflower and potato soup, which is also perfectly smooth.
The secret to making this soup smooth is cooking all the ingredients properly and having an amazing blender in your kitchen. When blended well, you will enjoy the balanced flavours and go for seconds or even triples! If you make enough of the soup, it can serve as a main course for lunch. The soup leaves much room for creativity with the garnish, giving you the opportunity to make the soup visually stunning.
best selling soup cookbooks
- Great British Soups: 120 tempting recipes from Britain’s master soup-makers (New Covent Garden Soup Company)
- Soup for Every Day: 365 of Our Favourite Recipes (New Covent Garden Soup Company)
- A Little Book of Soups: 50 Favourite Recipes
- The Soup-Maker Cookbook: Over 50 recipes for Soup Makers
- 200 Super Soups: Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook (Hamlyn All Colour Cookery)
kitchenAid blender for the chestnut soup
I like to accessorise my kitchen with various kitchen tools and gadgets that help me get the job done. They come especially handy during Christmas and the Easter holidays. My blender is one of the most important tools in my kitchen as I use my blender every single day, either to make smoothies or soups. For making delicious chestnut soup, you’ll need a high-quality blender like the KitchenAid Artisan Power Plus Blender.
With its powerful 3.5 peak motor, it blends ingredients together quickly. It can handle ingredients like frozen fruit to various nutrient-dense vegetables. It even comes with a pulse/boost option along with a self-cleaning cycle. This is extremely important to maintain the blades.
The blade is an asymmetric stainless steel blade, which blends at four different angles. This allows the blender to handle larger and tougher ingredients, even whole fruits and vegetables. What I really like about this blender is that is has a thermal control jar with a touch removable handle grip. With the jar having proper insulation, you won’t burn your hands when you handle the jug. So, if you haven’t got a blender in your kitchen, there is no better time to ask for an amazing Christmas gift! For more fantastic kitchen tools, look for the KitchenAid logo!
using a good blender
Just the other day, I‘ve made a tangy watercress soup using my blender to get a vitamin boost for the cold weather. You can also try making a delicious broccoli and stilton soup. I like to use up old ingredients in the fridge and be creative. However, if you yearn for creamy notes, then definitely go for the Jerusalem artichoke soup. You can also make a ‘raw’ soup, a very healthy alternative.
Drink-wise, here’s my super green smoothie, which I make for the kids to boost their vitamin intake. The beauty of having a blender is that you can use just about any ingredient in your fridge and a delicious smoothie is just seconds away. What would you use your blender for – soups or smoothies? I tend to use mine more for soups, even though some might refer to these as baby food. However, on occasion I also make delicious hummus.
the chestnuts
How many of you have kids that love playing with chestnuts as soon as they fall off the tree? I used to play with chestnuts all the time when I was a child, also known as horse chestnut or conkers. These are inedible, so please be careful when you take chestnuts directly from a tree. The horse chestnut has a smooth husk, with a couple of warts. Don’t use these in the chestnut soup! You can find them on the street or in the forest. If you can’t distinguish between edible and inedible chestnuts, then just stick to using those from the supermarket.
If you purchase more chestnuts that intended, then you can always have roasted chestnuts on the side! Your kids will love them. Also, they will definitely put you in the Christmas spirit.
ingredients
I always promote cooking with fresh ingredients! Hence, its no surprise that I suggest using freshly made vegetable stock for your delicious chestnut soup. The stock cubes have a lot of additives and it surely doesn’t taste as good as the real thing. Be careful when you cook all the ingredients in the vegetable stock, as they should cook properly. For example, if you don’t cook the carrots long enough, you’ll have hard carrot bits in your chestnut soup. It has the potential to completely throw off the entire texture of the soup. The same principle goes for the chestnuts.
Remember to season the soup well with salt and pepper. I would also try adding a little bit of nutmeg, just for those extra Christmassy flavours.
garnish and toppings
The soup leaves much room for creativity with the garnish, giving you the opportunity to make the soup beautiful. I used double cream, parsley and chopped cooked chestnuts with freshly ground pepper. However, I also think that pumpkin seeds could work very well. Perhaps, even cashews as well as feta cheese, which is creamy yet adds acidity. This will help cut through the intensity of the chestnut soup.
I also like using gluten-free breadcrumbs when I know I am only planning to eat soup for dinner. This will not only add an extra bit of crunch, but fill you up as well. Serve with rye bread but you can also use other gluten-free alternatives.
make it vegan
For making the soup vegan, omit using the butter when you fry the onions. Instead, use vegetable oil or unscented coconut oil. Refrain from using cream as garnish and use a vegan substitute, which you can easily find in supermarkets.
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Chestnut Soup
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4
Author: Michelle Minnaar
Ingredients
- 15ml (1 tbsp) butter
- 15ml (1 tbsp) oil
- 2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 500g (1lb) cooked and peeled chestnuts
- 750ml (3 tbsp) vegetable stock
Instructions
- Fry the onions in butter and oil in a large saucepan until they have softened.
- Add the carrots, chestnuts and stock.
- Turn up the heat until a slow simmer is reached. Continue for around 10 minutes or until the carrots are cooked.
- Pour the contents into a KitchenAid blender, or an alternative, and blend until the soup is perfectly smooth.
- Garnish each bowlful with double cream, parsley, chopped cooked chestnuts and freshly ground pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
- To make the recipe vegan-friendly, omit the butter and use a bit more oil to fry the onions. Use a cream alternative.
Courses Starter
Cuisine English
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 serving
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 354 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 8.2 g | 13% | |
Saturated Fat 2.6 g | 13% | |
Cholesterol 8 mg | 3% | |
Sodium 135 mg | 6% | |
Total Carbohydrates 66.8 g | 22% | |
Dietary Fiber 3.2 g | 13% | |
Sugars 5.9 g | ||
Protein 3.9 g | 8% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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soups and smoothies
clever
I love making soups and this would be so helpful
me too
A big old love cake for my other half! I’d make a huge heart cake with his favourite chocolate filling and buttercream icing 🙂 x
one word- amaaazing!
Spicy parsnip and carrot soup. We love it but it takes some heavy duty blending to make!
sounds like a lovely combination.
To blend homemade low fat soups full of veg and smoothie bowls for breakfast.
good idea 🙂
That looks absolutely divine. My kind of food. I love the Blog x
thanks Jacqueline 🙂
I would use it for soups, smoothies and dips.
sounds good!
Salsa’s, smoothies, blending pumpkin for breads and pumpkin pie
nice!!
Would be for some yummy soups
nice
I would try out some different smoothie recipes
perfect for detoxing 🙂
What an amazing prize!! I’d love to use it for soups and sauces
thanks for sharing Frances 🙂
I would use it for soups.
Nice 🙂
I would make a nice hot vegetable curry sauce
sounds perfect for this gloomy weather 🙂
if i have any left over lobby it tastes yummy the next day whizzed into a soup 🙂
Nice 🙂
I’d use it for making various vegetable soups.
nice!
I love making a range of homemade soup so would use the blender to make soup – maybe a cream of mushroom first!
cream of mushroom sounds amazing 🙂
I would first make some different soups buy a load of veg & experiment!. Then I would buy a load of fruit & experiment with those too!.
Sounds like a plan! 🙂
I would use the blender to make some vegetable soup
clever and practical 🙂
I’d love to make healthy soups t but secretly id love to make quickbreads and maybe go bit crazy and use herbal tea leaves to make them taste different and exotic in would just want be more creative
wow Emma, that’s really creative. Would love to try the tea leaf thing
I would use it for soups, I love making soup, my favourite at the minute is mushroom which I add bacon to for a nice taste .x
clever! Bacon has that nice smokiness to it. very clever and very yum!
Soups , sauces and smoothies
nice
Soups, sauces & smoothies
nice
Soups and stocks
nice
I would love to try and make some nut butters! I don’t have anything powerful enough at the moment to make it 🙂
oooooo sounds delicious
Fruit Smoothies, Lentil and Vegetable Soup, Leek and Potato Soup and various dips and purees (then I’d get creative!)
nice!
I would make our usual creamy stilton and potato soup for Christmas day starter. And veg soup from the left-over veg. And of course turkey soup. Bread sauce, cheese sauce for my leeks, smoothies on Boxing Day. Endless uses! This would be so fantastic! What a great prize for the very lucky winner!
thanks for sharing Val 🙂
Soup – my friends recipe for Tomato and Red Pepper!
Nice
I’d like to use it for creamy warm soups and souces.
I really like your recipe, because in Hungary, we use another ingredients and your page is so exciting for me. I’ll try some new combination 😉 (I hope that I could win from Hungary :))
oooh, you must have some delicious Hungarian recipes too <3 I love Hungarian cuisine. What do you usually eat for Christmas? 🙂
That looks deliscous. Could you use other nuts as well, or add garlic?
Hi Sophie, well if you use other nuts, you’ll need lots more heavy or double cream to get that consistency right. Remember, chestnuts are creamy themselves when cooked or roasted. But in general, yes you can use other nuts 🙂 In terms of garlic – OF COURSE :)) Garlic is an excellent addition to anything. If you pan-fry it, it will give a nice sweetness to the overall flavour. Enjoy 🙂
I’d like to try this soup recipe, looks lovely
thanks Sadie!
This would be perfect for making warming soups during these cold mounts or for my pre workout smoothie
wow, sounds interesting. What is your pre work out smoothie based on?
Definitely mainly soups, I love homemade soups, especially in the winter
same!
This is amazing thank you so much , I’d certainly use it to make some pasta sauce, dips and I’ve never made my own soup but if i had this I could certainly give it a try.
go for it 🙂
I would definitely use the Kitchenaid blender to make that chestnut soup. Sounds yummy!
thanks for sharing Rachel
Lovely soup ideas. I’d love a blender like yours, we have soup most days!
🙂 haha thanks for sharing Caroline 🙂
Such an amazing prize. I love soup and this would give me more ideas to make different delicious soup. Thanks! Really fab.
thanks Jacqui
I’d make that lovely chestnut soup, for a start. It looks gorgeous!
thanks Denise
I have just purchased a waffle/pancake maker and I would make the bátter in a blender to make it nice and smooth añd have delicious pancakes and waffles as a weekend treat with fresh fruit and yogurt.
I would also make my own sauces and dressings for salads. I like to give these away for gifts at Christmas..
there are so many things you can do with a blender this list really is endless
true that 🙂
Soups & Sauces
Nice
I Would use the Kitchen Aid powerplus blender to make my butternut squash, sweet potato and spinach soup
that sounds amazing
it would be used almost exclusively for soups and broths
nice!
making my ‘get well soon’ tomato soup
Haha, great answer Laura 🙂
Chestnut soup is delicious! I do a slightly different recipe with sage and without the carrots but I’d love to try this version. Obviously I’d be using the blender to make it!
ooo, sounds great with sage. Never thought of this combo. Thanks for sharing Victoria 🙂
A nice powerful blender like this would be fab for crushing ice & making refreshing iced fruit smoothies in the warmer months & for making my almond milk, or lovely warming thick roast vegetable soup now! The options are endless! Great prize ??
Wow! I ‘ve never tried making almond milk before… must be difficult! Thanks for sharing Jennie
To make this amazing soup!
hehe 😉
It’d be my helper for creamy soups (my fav own soup is a creamy dahl with chickpeas and pumpkin – gluten and lactose free). I hope that I’d play from Hungary too 😉
Your recipe sounds cool and I really like these photos <3
thanks Lilla!
I would use this awesome machine to blend the meals of my six months old baby!
Also I would use it to make fresh smoothies every morning!
Nice! 🙂
My little one is six months old and started to eat so I would use it to blend his meals!
Also I would make breakfast with fresh smoothies every morning!
how cute <3
It’d be my helper for creamy soups (my fav own soup is a creamy dahl with chickpeas and pumpkin – gluten and lactose free). I hope that I’d play from Hungary too 😉
Your recipe sounds cool and I really like these photos <3
thanks Lilla 🙂
It’d be my helper for creamy soups (my fav own soup is a dahl with chickpeas and pumpkin – gluten and lactose free), souces and pate. I hope that I’d play from Hungary too 😉
niceeeee!
I want to make smoothies and sauces
*thumbs up*
Well you’ve made these soups look so gorgeously appetizing, I would definitely love to give them a go. Like many other folks living with cancer, i’m trying my best to eat as healthily as possible and homemade soups are a perfect way to get loads of vital vitamin see and minerals in. Thanks for the inspiration.
Hi Phillipa 🙂 many thanks for sharing 🙂 I wish you the very best of luck and I hope you enjoy this lovely chestnut soup 🙂
I would love this as my little boy Ethan is 5 months old so we will be weaning soon and Im hoping to make him some delicious first tastes ?
how cute Laurra. Congrats on having a baby 🙂
I would definitely use it for soups and also smoothies
Nice!
I’d use it for a pepper and tomato soup
oh nice!
Quite some prize, would love spending this. Great recipe actually
Thanks Stella! It’s delicious 🙂
What a fabulous helping hand in the kitchen this would be 🙂 I do love to make my own sauces, soups, purees, pastes and dips, although it can be very time consuming with just a hand blender.
I think the first thing i would probably make with the help of this lovely prize would be the dishes i have in mind for a dinner party that i am planning to hold for my Husbands 54th birthday in February.
A starter of Ham hock and split pea soup
The main – Smoked haddock & Asparagus Flan
Desert – Raspberry pavlova with a lemon sauce
This is the plan, although be it a very adventurous one. I’ll let you know how it goes! 🙂 x x
Wow Tracey! That sounds amazing!
This would be lovely to make some yummy delicious vegetable soup 🙂
agreed 🙂
Ooh, lots of things! Soups, sauces. It’s powerful enough for nut butters – home made hazelnut and almond butter is to die for! It’s like spreadable praline!
that sounds amazing Lydia! I should try this out one day! I am sure it tastes amazing!
make a nice and warming winter soup
the best 🙂