Mushroom & Chestnut Soup
By: Natalie
Published: Sunday, May 30, 2010 - 11:01am

Ingredients




Half a white onion, peeled and thinly sliced
150 grams of mixed oyster mushrooms (or a mix of oyster, Half a litre of chicken stock
25 grams of fresh chilli, de-seeded and roughly chopped
150 grams chesnuts (vacuum packed are fine)
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Large spoon of double cream
Fresh chives, snipped into tiny pieces
Sprig of parsley to serve
75 grams cubed pancetta
Glug of olive oil

Preparation

1 In a pan heat up a glug of olive oil and then add the sliced onions and the chilli. Sweat for about 5 minutes and then add the mushrooms, cook for a further 5 minutes before adding the chicken stock and the fresh thyme. Simmer for 10 minutes. 2 Add the chestnuts and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend until smooth in a food processor. Return to the pan and stir in the cream and snipped chives, keep warm while you cook the pancetta. You can make the soup in advance and keep it in a container until it is needed but the pancetta is better cooked fresh just before you need it so it keeps it heat and crispness. 3 In a hot frying pan fry the pancetta. Don’t add any additional fat. While the pancetta is cooking some of its fat will cook out, drain this off at intervals as you don’t want this running into your creamy soup. When the pancetta is golden and crispy it is ready. 4 Serve the soup in warm bowls, topped with the crispy pancetta and, if you are feeling fancy, with a little sprig of parsley.

About


This recipe is an adaptation of a Sophie Dahl recipe from her book the Voluptuous Miss Dahl.