In her 1845 book Modern Cookery for Private Families, Eliza Acton has six recipes for chestnuts: a soup, a stuffing, a stew, with sausages, as part of a wonderful-sounding custard, and also boiled, noting that some chestnuts “require to be boiled nearly or quite an hour, others little more than half the time: the cook should try them occasionally”. Once they are soft, she suggests draining, wiping with a coarse cloth and sending them to the table quickly in a hot napkin. This makes me think of another table, and of a man so frustrated by the stubborn, leathery skin of a boiled chestnut that it pinged out of his hand and hit another man just below his eye. As apologies and ice were offered, the injured man’s wife noted that roasting chestnuts was much better, at which point someone else recalled how they had once watched a chestnut, which seemed to be quietly roasting in a perforated pan, explode and half of it hit the ceiling. But back to Eliza’s soup.
It was the first recipe I made from her book, actually my mum’s book and on extended loan. The recipe involves mashing boiled chestnuts with stock, seasoning them with mace and cayenne, and finishing with cream for a wonderful rich, velvety soup, of which this week’s recipe is a variation. It is also inspired by a Piemontese minestra of riso, latte e castagne (rice, milk and chestnuts). There are three options for this soup, and none of them is dangerous: 500g whole fresh chestnuts or 200g dried chestnuts (both of which need preparation), or 250g cooked, peeled chestnuts, which are ready to go.
To prepare the fresh chestnuts, score a small X on the flat side of each one – this helps the shell loosen as it cooks. Again, you now have three options: either spread the chestnuts on a baking sheet and roast at 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 for 30 minutes; steam over gently boiling water for 20 minutes; or boil in water for 30 to 60 minutes (they should be tender at the centre, so test with a toothpick). Wrap the boiled, roasted or steamed chestnuts in a cotton tea towel to steam. After 15 minutes, unwrap and take them out one by one to peel off the shells and remove the papery skins – don’t worry if the chestnuts break up while you’re doing this; in fact, embrace the mess, because you’re going to crumble them anyway.
If you are using dried chestnuts, which are the most economical (although not in terms of time), they need to be soaked for six to 12 hours (some brands suggest 30 minutes, but I have never found this to be enough), then boiled, before being cooked in the soup (again, some suggest you can cook them directly in the soup, but that would demand a long-cooked soup, which this isn’t). The best way to pre-cook the rehydrated chestnuts is in a pressure cooker, which not only speeds up the cooking time to 25 minutes and saves energy, but maintains nutrients and vitamin C. If you are using vacuum-packed ones, simply unwrap them.
As you might imagine from the combination of ingredients, centuries and places, this soup is a mixture of things, both savoury and sweet, and unthreatening. It’s reminiscent of rice pudding, bread sauce and Sunday stuffing, and also, thanks to the addition of cheese, soup with rice or white risotto.
Rice, chestnut, milk and bay soup
Serves 4
500g whole chestnuts, or 250g cooked, peeled chestnuts
1 slice butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
3 bay leaves
Salt and black pepper
750ml very light stock, or salted water
500ml milk
1 tsp mace or nutmeg
200g rice (arborio or carnaroli)
2-3 tbsp grated parmesan, or grana padano
To prepare fresh chestnuts, score a small X on the flat side of each one, then either roast at 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 for 30 minutes, steam over boiling water for 20 minutes, or boil for 30 minutes to an hour. Wrap the roasted, steamed or boiled chestnuts in a tea towel or paper bag to keep them warm, wait 15 minutes, then unwrap and peel off and discard both the shells and the papery skins. If you have boiled or steamed the chestnuts, they will need another 30 minutes’ boiling before they’re soft enough for soup. If you are using vacuum-packed, just unwrap.
In a heavy-based soup pan or terracotta dish, warm the butter and olive oil, then gently fry the onion until soft and translucent. Add the crumbled chestnuts, bay leaves and a pinch of salt, then add the stock, milk and mace/nutmeg, and bring to a gentle boil. Bring to a lively simmer for 15 minutes, then add the rice and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until the rice is done and the minestra dense. Pull off the heat, stir in the cheese and season with salt and lots of black pepper, to taste.
