Chestnut soup

This soup has Christmas written all over it. Every recipe that I found for this soup had cream in it. However, this Christmas my Jewish family were coming over and we were having prime rib as our main course, so cream was out. I toyed with using coconut milk as a non-dairy cream substitute but really in the end there was no need for it. The soup was all kinds of delicious on its own.

Roasted chestnuts just out of the oven

 Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs of fresh chestnuts or two packages of vacuum packed chestnuts

2 ribs of celery

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 medium onions

Pinch of nutmeg

2 small/1 big bay leaf

1.5 litres of chicken or vegetable stock

Couple of tablespoons of olive oil

Sprig or two of Italian parsley

Salt & pepper to taste

If you have fresh chestnuts, they need to be roasted.  Heat the oven to 425F. Place the chestnuts flat side down on a cutting board and with a small, sharp knife cut an X into the top of the nut. Place them on a baking tray and cook for about 20 minutes. The shells will burst open when they’re ready.  Take them out and let them cool, then peel. Either chop or crush with your fingers (more fun) so you have little bits of nuts. You can do this all a day or two ahead and keep the peeled chestnuts in the fridge.

Peel and thinly slice the onions. Clean and thinly slice the celery.  Put the olive oil in a large pot and when hot add the celery and onions. Sautee/sweat for about 10 minutes, adding the garlic near the end so it doesn’t burn.

Add the stock, nutmeg, bay leaves, and parsley. Add almost all the chestnuts leaving a couple of tablespoons for later. Bring to the boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Toasted roasted chestnuts

While the soup is cooking, heat a bit of oil in a small frying pan. Add the remaining bits of chestnut and fry for a few minutes until it’s all crispy. Be careful that you don’t burn the little bits as it’ll make it all bitter.

Remove soup from heat and let cool a little. Remove the bay leaves and parsley.  Then blitz up the soup mixture until it is very smooth – don’t be impatient. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve steaming hot with a bit of the crispy bits drizzled on top in each bowl.

The verdict from my nephew who is a picky eater: "Add this to the list of things I'll eat."

© 2015 Gail J. Cohen

Oaxacan mole amarillo

Now that I'm not travelling, I'm going to share some of the recipes that I learned or were inspired by my travels as well as any others that find their way out of my head since I love to cook and love to share. I welcome any and all feedback!

Costeno amarillo

In Oaxaca, I ate a lot of mole amarillo and absolutely fell in love with it. Like many of the traditional Oaxacan moles, it is made with chiles that can only be found in Oaxaca. In this case it’s chiles consteno amarillo. I brought back a whole bag of them and couldn’t wait to try it out. (Most recipes you can find on the internet will be made with guajillo, which just ain’t quite right!) While I ate a lot of this mole while there, it wasn’t one of the ones that I was shown how to make so this is a cobbling together of what I got from watching and tasting along the way.

My dad, who is a lover of both spicy food and Spanishy flavours has never really developed much enthusiasm for Mexican food. He envisions greasy, cheesy Tex-Mex and he’s just not interested. Not being one to give up when faced with Mexican food naysayers, I decided this dish could be the gateway to get him on board. And a good choice it was. While he did not go in with the most positive intent, he was won over by the smooth and distinctive flavour, which is not too spicy and relatively fruity as the chiles are sun dried and not smoky at all.

It is also one of the moles that is traditionally served with vegetables, in  this case chayote, potatoes, and green beans. This mole amarillo is also one of the most popular fillings for tamales, the best late-night treats available on the streets of Oaxaca.

4 servings

Mole

4 chiles costeno amarillo

2 large plum tomatoes

½ small white onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves

2 med or 4 small tomatillos

2 cloves

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of cumin

1 ball of allspice

6 peppercorns

1 tsp oregano (preferably Mexican)

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup masa harina

1 litre of chicken stock

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt to taste

To poach chicken

8-10 chicken thighs

Handful of fresh parsley

1 clove of garlic

8 peppercorns

1 tsp salt

Vegetables

1 chayote

200 g of green beans

3 medium potatoes

Put chicken into a pot with parsley, garlic, salt, and peppercorns. Cover with water and poach chicken until done. Save stock to use in making mole. Set chicken aside.

Remove stem and seeds from the chile.

Gently soften the chiles on the comal. Remove and place in a glass bowl and cover with hot stock. Let soak for at least 20 minutes.

Dry roast onion slices, garlic in the skin, tomatoes, tomatillos on the comal. Once ready put them all in the blender (remember to cool and remove the skin from the garlic). Add the cilantro, oregano, and the chiles and soaking liquid.  Waz until smooth, about 3-4 minutes.

Grind the cloves, cumin, allspice, and pepper.

Heat oil in a pot and quickly fry spices when hot. Add chile mixture and sear.  Bring to the boil and stir for about 5 minutes. Add masa harina as well as ½ a cup or so of chicken stock. Let boil for about 10 minutes. Add more stock if it’s too thick and let boil for a total of 15-20 minutes. Add salt to taste.

In the meantime, peel and cut up the chayote. Cut up the potatoes into slightly larger pieces. Boil them in a mix of stock and water with a pinch of salt.  Clean and boil the beans in stock as well.

Mole amarillo

To serve: Two chicken thighs covered with one soup ladle + a bit of mole with a selection of the vegetables. Of course, fresh corn tortillas on the side are always welcome.

© Gail J. Cohen 2015