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Pumpkin Cream Soup
The pumpkin and chestnut cream soup is an enveloping and colorful "comfort food" that contains all the aromas and flavors of the autumn season that has now begun. A light and tasty dish, it is perfect to bring to the table with a drizzle of raw oil and hot croutons for any family lunch or dinner. To prepare it, you will need to simmer the diced pumpkin in a pan with sautéed onion and boiling vegetable broth, then pour in the chopped boiled chestnuts, previously blanched in lightly salted water with a bay leaf and a sprig of rosemary, and then cook everything with a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper.
Furthermore, for a creamier result, you can blend the velouté with 50 ml of liquid cream or add a couple of diced potatoes on the heat. At the end, you will have to cream the ingredients with an immersion blender and distribute the velouté, still steaming, on the plates.
Any more suggestions?
Instead of chestnuts you can use chestnuts while, as regards pumpkin, we suggest you opt for Delica: a variety with very sweet and compact pulp, with an irresistible nutty aftertaste.
Let's get to the recipe.
Ingredients for 4 people
- Already cleaned pumpkin 500 gr
- Chestnuts 300 gr
- Sage 5-6 leaves
- 1/2 copper onion
- Laurel 1 leaf
- Rosemary 1 sprig
- Boiling vegetable broth to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil to taste
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Nutmeg to taste
- Croutons to taste
1. Start by washing the chestnuts under running water.
Then cut the chestnuts with a sharp knife and pour them into a large pot. Cover with lightly salted water, flavor with a bay leaf and a sprig of rosemary, and let them cook for about 15 minutes after boiling. After this time, drain the chestnuts, peel them while they are still hot and set them aside.
2. Fry the thinly sliced onion in a non-stick pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the chopped sage.
Add the diced pumpkin pulp and cook for a few minutes. At this point, cover with the boiling vegetable broth and continue cooking for about 15 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft.
3. Add the boiled chestnuts and keep some whole ones aside for the final garnish.
Don't forget to add salt and pepper, and cook the velouté, stirring often with a wooden ladle. Once ready, remove from the heat and flavor with a pinch of nutmeg. Then blend everything well with an immersion blender. You should thus obtain a smooth and creamy mixture.
4. Finally, arrange the pumpkin and chestnut cream soup on plates and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper to taste.
Complete with a drizzle of raw oil and hot croutons. Complete the service with the crumbled chestnuts kept aside and for a rustic and "crunchy" consistency you can choose to leave the chestnuts in pieces while for an even tastier version you can add sautéed mushrooms.
Turmeric, curry, sweet paprika or chili powder are all spices that you can use according to your tastes; just as you can flavor everything with other aromatic herbs of your liking: thyme, parsley, marjoram, chives...
If you have leftovers, but we don't think so, you can keep it in the fridge for a couple of days at most.
WHAT'S THE PERFECT PAIRING?
Our Nebbiolo, born from the hills surrounding Alba, is the combination we choose for the pumpkin and chestnut velouté.
A full-bodied wine but which also goes well with more delicate dishes thanks to the typical fruity hints of raspberry, geranium and wild strawberry and the spicier ones of cinnamon and vanilla. A wine with a harmonious flavor that should be served at around 18° - 20° to be enjoyed at its best.
>> Discover all the wines of Duchessa Lia
