This silky and herbaceous Butternut Squash Chestnut Soup topped with a crispy prosciutto topping and pomegranate arils is a delicious savoury recipe for the festive season!
Hello, everyone. Happy (kind of) Monday! Well I need to explain this part. A very strange thing happened to me. I posted this recipe on Monday. And today I opened the site…and it had disappeared! I could find it anywhere. And yes, I am quite sure I did publish it ;) Bizarre! Have you ever had anything like that? Luckily, I didn’t delete the word file with the draft of the post, so it’s not too hard to recreate that. Fingers crossed; I can find it tomorrow! 0180000
Last year I challenged myself to post as many savoury holiday ideas as possible, and I did like it. Coming up with savoury recipes could be a little challenging in terms of both the development part, styling, and shooting. Almost all Christmas cookies and cakes already look festive, but with a savoury dish you’ve got to work a little harder.
Let’s say this Butternut Squash Chestnut Soup. The flavour combination of squash and chestnuts is rather Christmassy. But would the soup itself, without sprucing it up, still look like something special? I don’t think so. The thing is that Christmas recipes don’t need to be fancy or expensive, but they should scream “Holiday!” or at least give those vibes.
Now, imaging the situation. Christmas (or any other winter holidays). Cold outside (It’s certainly White Christmas at least in my imagination). But you’re staying warm and cozy inside. The fireplace (I’d prefer areal deal, but a gas fireplace will do the job, too). Blanket. Christmas tree. A bowl of delicious and soul-warming Butternut Squash Chestnut Soup crispy prosciutto on top. Well this sounds like a perfect Christmas holiday to me.
And the best part? You don’t need to wait until the holidays arrive – you can enjoy it on any time of the year (Except, probably, for summer).
Cheers and see you soon (I am bringing a festive cheese appetizer. Can you guess what’s it going to be?)
Butternut Squash Chestnut Soup
Notes
* Adding a little of butter while pureeing soup makes it luxuriously smooth and silky and improves the flavour.
Ingredients
The Soup:
- 1 medium large butternut squash + oil for greasing + salt and pepper
- 1 whole garlic (unpeeled)
- 4 to 5 tbsp. butter, divided
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 400-500 gr. cooked and peeled chestnuts (I used vacuum-packed)
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme
- A generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (I used 1 whole)
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- Salt, to taste
The Topping:
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 150 gr. prosciutto, sliced
- 200 gr. cooked and peeled chestnuts
- A handful of fresh sage
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme
- Black pepper
- More freshly grated nutmeg
- Pomegranate seeds and thyme, to garnish
Instructions
- Cut the butternut squash in half and remove the seeds. Brush with a little of olive oil, season with some salt and pepper, place the garlic inside, and roast in the preheated to 180 degrees C (360 degrees F) oven for about 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of your squash. It should be soft when pierced with a fork but still firm.
- Remove from oven and let cool until easy to handle. Remove the flesh (You’ll need about 7 cups, but it can be less or more). Remove the peel from the garlic.
- In a large pan melt 1 tbsp. of butter and cook the onions and garlic (You can use as much as you desire. I added the whole head as the roasted garlic has a nice, sweet and mellow flavour), 5 minutes.
- Add the chestnuts with sage, a thyme, and seasons and cook 2-3 minutes to bring up the flavours.
- Add the butternut squash and 2-4 cups of water to cover the veggies. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Off heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Transfer in a food processor in few settings, each time adding a little of water and a piece of butter (between 2 to 3 remaining tablespoons – See Notes).
- Transfer the pureed soup in a pan and add more water, to reach the desired consistency. Heat it through bringing to almost a boil then turning the heat off. Try and adjust seasonings if needed.
- For the topping, melt 1 tbsp. of butter in a pan and cook the prosciutto, 5 minutes.
- Add the roughly crumbled chestnuts, sage, thyme, paprika, and nutmeg and cook for 3 minutes or until nicely browned.
- Serve the soup with some topping, pomegranate seeds, and fresh thyme.
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
What a lovely variation of Chestnut Soup. I think that adding butternut squash is genius, making the soup all creamy! Yes I’d certainly be happy with a big bowl of this, this festive period! Ps. Yes I’ve had recipes disappear before too. It was so annoying. Good job you had the work file saved!
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I’ve had that happen before and it’s so frustrating. This soup is so gorgeous! I want to jump through the screen and sip it all up! So yummy! Pinning! xo
That’s so weird–good thing you still had the post saved! This soup looks delicious. I’m loving the chestnut recipes! Have a great weekend, my friend!
So bizarre about your post disappearing, Ben. I’m so glad you didn’t lose what you’d written!
This soup of yours looks so good and it’s just about lunch time here. I wish I could reach through my screen! Chestnuts are one of those delicious ingredients that I think are underused in recipes. I’m always happy to see them!
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