This is a delicious winter warmer of a soup. The sweetness of the soup is balanced perfectly with the saltiness of the crispy bacon and flavours of rosemary. Easy, quick and healthy!
Serves 6 as entrée size
INGREDIENTS
5-6 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
1 fresh rosemary stalk (plus extra for garnish)
2 large parsnip (600g)
2 granny smith apples
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
1 yellow onion
400g raw chestnuts
100ml single cream
1.5l water
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper (to serve)
200g streaky bacon
METHOD
Score the chestnuts with a sharp knife to create a cross through the shell.
Spread on a baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 200°C or until the shells split open. Once cooked, wrap in a clean tea towel for 5 to 10 minutes and then quickly peel off the outer brown shell and remove the papery thin skin underneath.
Chop the garlic. Heat the oil in a large pot and fry the garlic and rosemary for 30 seconds, making sure they don’t burn.
Add the rest of the vegetables – the smaller you cut them, the faster they will get cooked, but remember that you will purée them at the end, so you don’t have to spend too much time cutting them to perfection.
Add the water and the salt and let boil for about 45 minutes, until the veggies are soft.
In the meantime prepare the bacon and chop it into small
Now it’s time to turn what you have in your pot into a cream soup, so take out your blender and purée the veggies. Add the cream and mix well.
Serve warm with crispy bacon. For aesthetics, sprinkle some rosemary and drizzle some cream.
Recipe and photograph by Ioana Negulescu of Berry and Spice blog