So Simple: Mark Bittman’s Roasted Chestnut Soup

As lights twinkled and singers crooned during the set up for our first holiday boutique of the season last week, it didn’t take long for us to feel cozy and warm at the Woman’s Athletic Club annual holiday event in downtown Chicago. 

Neighbored by Tasha at Ash and Ames brilliantly showcasing artisanal jewelry from around the globe, and Katherine of Katorriginal Art with her Breakfast Bunny (Ink and Broux de Noix on Paper) we felt grateful and inspired to be taking our Zen Blends to Chicago.

With our weekly blog post fast approaching, Meg suggested a series of chef inspired recipes for this month. I found several seasonal ideas buried in my own cookbooks, at the library and on the web, then narrowed down the results into 2 categories: So Simple, and So Tasty recipes.

So following a week of back – back holiday boutiques, the zen of slow cooking is firmly in “holiday mode” and November includes goodies from Mark Bittman, Ellie Krieger and Rick Bayless.

At this time of year we need all the help we can get fighting off seasonal colds. A bowl of chestnut soup is packed with the creamy, starchy, gluten-free goodness of chestnuts high in vitamin C alongside shiitake mushrooms cleverly disguised as a powerhouse of vitamins A, B(s) and D.

I took Mark Bittman’s word for it in his recipe for roasted chestnut soup “The Minimalist; No-Cream-Creamy-Soup” and while it tastes good, the no-cream component left it without a creamy texture. For a decadent drizzle I added 1 tbsp of half and half per serving.

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes Cooking Time: 6 hours on LOW or 3 hours High Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 tbsp light olive oil or butter
2 cups celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
salt and pepper
2 x 5oz packs of roasted and peeled chestnuts OR 20 large chestnuts to roast*
1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
6 cups chicken broth
6 tbsp half and half
Garnish: celery leaves and crispy shiitake

If you are using pre-packed chestnuts, place the olive oil or butter in skillet  and turn heat to medium. Add celery, onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion and celery is translucent, 3 minutes.

Transfer to your slow cooker. Add the chestnuts, mushrooms, salt and pepper and broth. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 2-3.

Once cooked, remove the lid and carefully puree soup using an immersion blender, or cool and then puree.

Serve and stir in a tbsp of half and half per serving. Garnish with celery leaves and shiitake. Is using dried shiitake, soak for a few minutes in warm water. Drain and fry in a little grapeseed oil until crispy.

*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a sharp paring knife, make an X on the flat side of each chestnut. Roast in an open pan for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the skins begin to open away from the meat. Remove both outer and inner skins while chestnuts are warm.

Zen Moment

“There is probably a smell of roasted chestnuts and other good comfortable things all the time, for we are telling Winter Stories – Ghost Stories, or more shame for us – round the Christmas fire; and we have never stirred, except to draw a little nearer to it.”

– Charles Dickens