Portuguese chestnut soup

Chestnut soup runs deep in Trás-os-Montes, my family’s region — where chestnut groves shaped whole villages, and where the magusto (the November chestnut roast) is still practically a holiday. Before potatoes crossed the Atlantic, chestnuts were the daily starch of northern Portugal, and this soup remembers that.

It turns simple ingredients into velvet: roasted chestnuts simmered with carrot, celery and potato, blended creamy, enriched — or not — with a little cream. The natural sweetness of the chestnuts does the heavy lifting.

Vacuum-packed roasted chestnuts make it a weeknight dish; roasting your own makes it an event. Either way, it belongs to autumn.

Portuguese Chestnut Soup Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes (plus 25 minutes if roasting chestnuts) · Cook time: 45 minutes · Total: about 1 hour · Servings: 6 · Calories: ~184 per serving

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds fresh chestnuts (or vacuum-packed roasted chestnuts)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
• 6 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup heavy cream (or unsweetened almond milk, for lighter)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fresh parsley or thyme, for garnish

Instructions

1. If using fresh chestnuts: score an X in each, roast at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes until the shells open, cool slightly, and peel away shells and skins. (Skip if using pre-cooked.)
2. Heat the olive oil in a big pot and soften the onion and garlic, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the carrots, celery and potato and cook 5 minutes more.
4. Add the chestnuts, water, bay leaf and thyme. Boil, then simmer, covered, 30 minutes.
5. Remove the bay leaf and blend until creamy (or half-blend for texture), thinning with water if needed.
6. Stir in the cream if using, season, and serve drizzled with olive oil and scattered with fresh herbs.

Recipe Notes

• Vacuum-packed roasted chestnuts are excellent here and save real labor.
• In Trás-os-Montes this soup pairs with the magusto season — roasted chestnuts on the side is doubling down, and correct.
• A splash of Port stirred in at the end is a northern indulgence worth knowing.