This luxurious, velvety soup is a tradition my mom started on Christmas several decades ago. It has always been a hit at the dinner table! We have made many versions of this soup over the years, for both Christmas and Thanksgiving, tweaking the recipe a bit every year. My latest one is equally as tasty as it is clean!! This is the kind of rich, creamy, soup you’d want seconds of, but would normally make you feel bloated…except with my recipe, there is no bloating!! Hurray!! I’m all about keeping the flavor and ditching the unwanted symptoms, so let’s dig in!
INGREDIENTS
14 ounces (Four 3.5 ounce packages) of cooked, peeled chestnuts
32 ounces of baby Cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 cup cashew cream (OR whole, canned coconut milk)*
4 Tablespoons Ghee
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot minced
1 yellow onion minced
5 cloves of garlic minced
4 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper or more to taste
1 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped finely
*Cashew cream can be made by soaking 1/2 cup raw cashews in 1 cup boiling water for 30 minutes, then blended until creamy. If using canned, whole coconut milk, it must be blended with 2/3 cup of water before adding to the soup.
DIRECTIONS
On medium heat sauté the shallot and onion for 3 minutes in a Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot with the olive oil and ghee. Add the minced garlic, and sauté until aromatic. Next add the chopped mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add broth, chestnuts, salt & pepper, and bring to a boil. Separate 2/3 of the soup mixture to blend smoothly in a blender, covering blender with a cloth to avoid any spillage. Pour the blended soup back into the pot with the remaining chunky soup, and add in the chopped herbs. Cook on low heat for 2 minutes more. Pour in the cashew or coconut cream and stir well. Garnish with black pepper and fresh herbs. Serve immediately and buon appetito!