Chestnut Apple Soup With Calvados Cream Recipes

CHESTNUT-APPLE SOUP WITH CALVADOS CREAM

Steps:

• Place prunes in a small bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let stand 5 minutes; drain. Return prunes to bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons Calvados. Cover with plastic wrap and reserve until ready to use.
• In a large skillet, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Stir in sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg. Add chestnuts and cook, stirring occasionally to coat chestnuts with butter mixture, until chestnuts are golden and caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons Calvados and cook, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet, until liquid is mostly evaporated. Remove chestnuts from heat.
• In a large pot, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the celery, carrots, shallots and leek; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in chestnuts, apples, stock and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Tie thyme and parsley together with kitchen twine and add to pot. Bring mixture to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are very tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove herbs and discard.
• Purée soup in batches in a food processor or blender (or use an immersion blender). Return soup to pot. Stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream. Keep soup warm over low heat.
• With an electric mixer, beat remaining 1/2 cup cream with remaining 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg until cream forms soft peaks.
• To serve, place a prune in each bowl. Fill each bowl with a ladleful of soup. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and drizzle with Calvados.

CHESTNUT SOUP

Steps:

• To Cook Chestnuts: With a sharp knife, slice an 'X' across each chestnut. Place chestnuts in a single layer on a jelly roll pan. Pour 1/4 cup water into the pan. Bake in a preheated 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) oven for 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, shell and peel.
• In a large saucepan combine the chicken stock, shelled chestnuts and chopped onions. Place the parsley sprigs, cloves and bay leaf in a spice bag and add to the chicken stock mixture. Simmer over medium-low heat for 45 minutes.
• Discard the spice bag and puree the chestnut mixture in a food processor or blender. Add the heavy cream, sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Return mixture to saucepan and gently heat through. To serve to with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream, a bit of chopped parsley and some cooked chopped chestnuts just before serving. High quality vegetable broth can be substituted for the chicken broth.