Comforting Spanish Chestnut Soup [Easy Recipe]

One of the best times of the year has finally arrived for people who prefer the spooky season before Christmas. Halloween is right around the corner and we want to help you enjoy it to the fullest.

For that reason, we will tell you about some Andalusian recipes that are perfect for this time of year. One of them is the chestnut soup and it stands out among other easy Spanish recipes you can make.

Keep scrolling down this article to find out how you can make it yourself, the changes you can make to the ingredients, and some extra tips on how to store or serve it.

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Background of the Dish

If there is something that makes Andalusia a jewel of Spain (besides its people, its culture, and its beautiful landscapes) it is its popular soups. 

You can find hundreds of Spanish soup recipes that come out of this region, and chestnut soup is one of them.

It is believed that this Spanish soup already existed in the 1600s, but there are only official records of similar recipes in the 18th century. 

At first, it was a soup for the higher social classes, due to the price of chestnuts, but today it is more accessible to everyone.

This soup is usually prepared during the fall because it is the time when chestnuts are sold the most, and also the weather is perfect to enjoy a creamy soup, and the chorizo gives it the final touch.

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Things You’ll Need for Chestnut Soup

To make this chestnut soup recipe, you only need a couple of ingredients and a pot, and that’s all you need to get to work. 

If you want to try other soup recipes that will put you in the Halloween mood, don’t hesitate to try the Spanish Bean Soup or the Spanish Lentil Soup.

Ingredients

• 3 cups (500 g) of chestnuts
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 carrots
• 1 leek
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves
• 1 cup (240ml) milk
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg 
• 1 Spanish chorizo
• Salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

How to Make Chestnut Soup – Step by Step Guide

1. To start with this Spanish chorizo recipe,  all you have to do is to clean, peel and cut the vegetables.

2. Then, prepare a broth with half of these vegetables by boiling them together with the cloves. Add the clove and reserve the onion, celery, and half the carrots along with the broth.

3. After that, wash and dry the chestnuts. With the tip of a sharp knife, remove the first shell/skin of the chestnut. Heat a little water and submerge them, a few at a time, for a couple of minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and when they aren’t so hot, remove the second skin of the chestnut.

4. Once you peeled the chestnuts, place them in a pot along with the reserved vegetables and cover them with broth. Cook until the chestnuts are tender.

5. In the meantime, put a little olive oil in a pan and cook the chorizo ​​cut into pieces (the size you want).

6. Return to the soup pot, add the milk, season with salt and pepper, and add the nutmeg. Cook for seven minutes more. Blend, and if it is too thick, add more broth. Serve hot, and since this is a chorizo soup don’t forget to add the pieces of chorizo ​​on top.

Substitution of Ingredients

You can search for inspiration in other recipes with chorizo, and play with the ingredients that are usually included in them. For example, peppers usually go very well, so add a couple.

If you want to try this Spanish soup but are vegan, there are still ways to turn this soup into one that is suitable for vegans, or dairy free.

For that, you can opt for the simplest option, which is to use vegan milk. You can also replace it with water and add 3 tablespoons of savory chestnut cream to the Spanish chorizo soup, which will be enough to give it a creamy and nutty touch.

Tips on Serving Chestnut Soup

The great advantage of this chorizo soup recipe is that you can serve it for both lunch and dinner. You can even serve it as a mid-morning or afternoon snack.

What it has in common with other savory chestnut recipes is that it goes very well with dairy. So go ahead and put some grated cheese on top, or even toast more nuts to give that crunchy texture to the soup.

Autumn is the season for comfy food so if you want to try another savory and simple recipe, we encourage trying the Spanish chorizo recipe that is cooked in cider, the Spanish pumpkin soup, or the pumpkin chorizo soup.

How to Store Chestnut Soup

If you follow this chestnut recipe, you can store the soup in the fridge. You just have to let it come to room temperature, put it in a Tupperware or cover it, and it’s ready to be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.

What often happens to the recipes with chestnuts is that freezing is not recommended, as dried fruit does not usually freeze well. 

What happens is that they absorb a lot of moisture, and this can transform into a strange taste and texture for your soup.

Recipe Card: Chestnut Soup

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