Butternut squash chestnut soup

5 from 1 vote

A delicious winter soup, ideal for using up chestnuts after Christmas.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Lunch, Soup

Cuisine: American, British

Keyword: butternut squash, chestnuts, soup recipe

Servings:

Calories: 185kcal

400 g butternut squash ideally cooked, having been peeled and chopped into medium size chunks. Or use raw and allow longer to simmer the soup. See instructions.
1 tsp vegetable stock I use Marigold powder
500 ml boiling water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek cleaned and sliced into rings
100 g chestnuts ready cooked peeled - I use Merchant Gourmet vacuum packed ones
100 ml half fat creme fraiche (optional)
1 tsp sage chopped if fresh, but dried works too
salt to season
pepper to season

(Cook your butternut squash in advance. I bunged mine in slow cooker the night before). Alternatively you can cook it at the simmer stage below but your soup will take longer to make.
Fry the leek rings in the olive oil in a large saucepan. When they are softened, add the chestnuts and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.
Mash the chestnuts gently into the leeks.
Mix the stock using the bouillon mix and boiling water.
Tip in the cooked butternut squash and stock and heat up. Alternatively you could add raw butternut squash and stock here but you will need to allow maybe ten mins' extra time to cook the squash at this stage.
Use a stick blender to puree your soup to whatever texture you prefer.
Season to taste and serve immediately. I sprinkled the sage over the top with some half fat creme fraiche but it would be equally nice without. Alternatively you could use a blob of low fat yogurt.