Pumpkin Chestnut Soup

Pumpkin Chestnut Soup may be the most delicious meal I’ve ever made. Ever. Maybe it’s the time of year. I am a creature of autumn. I cherish cool days and soft yellow sunlight. I relish whipping winds and leaves crunching beneath my feet. Pulling scarves and boots out of storage boxes sends a shiver of joy through me. I feel alive and inspired like no other time of year. This is my season.

Here in Colorado, sadly, the short growing season has peaked. The first snows have brought a dramatic halt to fresh from the garden produce. This week I officially put my garden plot to bed for the winter, cleaning out debris and giving her a thorough raking. It’s a shock to see the community gardens now, completely barren and empty, just as I found them in the beginning last spring. Quite different from the overgrown towers of sunflowers and wily vines of squash tumbling brazenly onto the walking path. During high summer the garden could not be contained. Today it’s only a mound of dirt.

At the market I picked up one of the last of the local pie pumpkins. A few of his friends were a bit soft and beginning to turn. Knocking on the hard orange flesh I could hear the hollow sound that let me know he was a good one. Still firm and fresh and eager to be cooked. I brought him home with a jar of roasted chestnuts and a tiny nugget of Gruyère. I had soup on my mind.

Cut off the top and hollow out the pumpkin for soup

I’ve come across several recipes for chestnut soup, all with the finished texture of a purée. I’ve seen plain puréed chestnut soup, chestnut-mushroom soup, and chestnut-pumpkin soup. Flipping through The Country Cooking of France, I came across a recipe for Nouzillards au Lait or “Cream of Chestnut Soup” that surprised me. In the recipe, peeled chestnuts are simmered in milk until tender and served just as they are, no purée. It struck me as rustic and comforting, with different textures to keep things interesting. I took the French inspiration and incorporated it into Whole Pumpkin Baked With Cream from the River Cottage Cookbook. Quantities for the recipe are intuitive (my favorite type of cooking). Hollow out a medium (1-2 pound) pumpkin and fill it with cream and Gruyère. I heated a mixture of cream and milk with a couple cloves of garlic in a small pot on the stove top. A sprig of thyme would have been a nice addition, had I remembered it. I tossed a handful of jarred roasted and peeled chestnuts into the pumpkin with freshly grated nutmeg. After an hour and a bit baking in the oven, my petit pumpkin was tender and sagging in its flesh. The aroma of garlic and pungent cheese filled the house. I served myself a slice of pumpkin and plenty of creamy soup. The ultimate surprise was the chestnuts which were tender and sweet, chewy like candy. The chestnuts brought something wonderful to a soup that would have been delicious without them. If you’re looking for a rich and hearty autumn soup with a bit of a twist, give Pumpkin Chestnut Soup a try.

Whole pumpkin baked in the oven with chestnuts & cream

Pumpkin Chestnut Soup

a loose recipe

Ingredients

1 medium (1 1/2 to 2 pound) pumpkin
olive oil
Gruyère cheese, grated
Chesnuts (the peeled and roasted type in a jar)
Heavy cream (combined with whole milk if you want to cut the richness)
Garlic cloves, peeled
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon butter

Ingredients for Pumpkin Chestnut Soup

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut the top off the pumpkin and set aside, you will use this as a lid during baking. Hollow out the pumpkin by removing the seeds and scraping the sides completely clean. Put the pumpkin on a baking sheet with sides (in case leaking occurs during baking). Rub the pumpkin down inside and out with a little olive oil. Season the inside with salt.

In a small pot, heat the cream and garlic cloves over medium-low heat. Once the aroma of garlic has infused the milk, remove from the heat and take out the garlic cloves. Set the cream aside.

Place a handful of Gruyère cheese in the bottom of the pumpkin. Toss in a handful or two of chestnuts. Pour cream (and milk) into the pumpkin over the chestnuts and cheese until the cavity is about 2/3 full. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper. Top with more grated cheese and a tablespoon of butter. Replace the lid atop the pumpkin.

Cook the pumpkin in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes, depending on its size. The pumpkin is ready when it begins to sag a bit and the skin turns a darker orangey-brown. Check to make sure the inside flesh is tender by removing the lid and checking it with a knife. Transfer the pumpkin to a bowl and cut into slices, allowing the soup to fill the bowl. Serve the pumpkin slices individually in bowls with plenty of creamy soup ladled over.

Pumpkin Chestnut Soup