Eating the Decorations

This time last year we were munching our way through the winter squash I had bought as Thanksgiving decorations. This year, I was restrained in my squash purchasing, and instead decorated with flowers and nuts.

The bowl of nuts decorating the hall table were chestnuts from Ha's Apple Farm. I love chestnuts, and I planned that we would roast them in our outdoor fireplace after Thanksgiving dinner.

But we're not lighting our fireplace in this time of drought — the air is too dry as it is. So instead of roasting the chestnuts, I boiled them, and combined them with pumpkin in a stick-to-the-ribs soup. Delicious!

Boiled chestnuts were a revelation. They were moist and sweet — unlike the black-edged lumps I pull from the fire when I roast them — and I started dreaming of chestnut mousse and marrons glacés. But I regained my focus and added the chestnuts to this soup where they added a wonderful rich creaminess. Best pumpkin soup ever!

If you don't feel like boiling and peeling chestnuts, you can use a one-pound jar of whole, peeled nuts.

When buying pumpkin or winter squash for this soup, ask the farmer for a dry starchy one like hubbard or buttercup. Roasting the pumpkin gives the soup more flavor than those made with boiled pumpkin. Also, because I was using my homemade stock, I used 3 cups stock and 5 cups water. Vary the ratio depending on your stock.

Pumpkin Chestnut Soup
4 lbs pumpkin or dry squash like Hubbard or Buttercup
1 1/2 cups chestnuts
4 tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
8 cups vegetable stock (or stock and water mixed)
3 1/2 lbs potatoes

Preheat oven to 400°F. Carefully cut the pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds. Brush the cut surfaces with olive oil and place cut-side down on a cookie sheet. Bake 30-40 minutes until flesh is soft and slightly caramelized. Let cool enough to handle. Then scoop the flesh from the skins and cut it into chunks. Discard the skins.

Meanwhile, put the chestnuts in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil. Let simmer 5 minutes, then take the pan off the heat and let cool a little. One by one, remove a chestnut from the pot, hold it in a kitchen towel, and remove both the thick outer peel and the thin brown inner skin with a small sharp knife. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add onion. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the stock, cooked pumpkin, potatoes and chestnuts. Simmer over medium heat 45 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Purée the soup with a stick blender. Or let it cool and purée carefully in a blender. Add more stock if the soup is too thick (but it's delicious when it's thick). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 8-10