Roasted Chestnut Soup

A very (belated) Happy New Year to you all, dear readers.  I amassed a bit of a backlog of recipes from the holiday season, and with time permitting I can now bring you the pictures and instructions.  This first winter soup was made following a recipe created by Chef Paul Virant from Vie in Chicago (I must admit I had never heard of him or the restaurant either, but then again I don't follow the Chicago restaurant scene at all).

Chestnuts are typically stocked at your local grocer seasonally.  I once attempted to procure chestnuts in the summer, only to discover no market in San Francisco had them in stock.  But come Thanksgiving and suddenly everyone is all about the chestnuts.  Go figure.  (not to be mistaken for water chestnuts, which are always easy to find).  You typically can purchase chestnuts already shelled and in a jar or can soaked in water.

So here's the recipe:
3 tablespoons butter
1 stalk celery, chopped into one inch half moons
1 carrot, chopped into one inch half moons
1 onion, quartered and chopped into one inch half moons
2 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth or stock
1 pound peeled chestnuts
½ cup cream
¼ pound bacon

Chop bacon strips into one-inch pieces and add to saute pan over medium-low heat.  Render the bacon and once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon, leaving behind the grease.

Next up add the celery, carrot and onion to same sauté pan over medium-to-low heat and sweat for 5 min, or until the vegetables become softer and translucent.

Add rosemary and chestnuts and cook for 5 more minutes.

Finally throw in the broth/stock and bay leaf, cook until chestnuts are tender and remove from heat.

Add cream and then puree the mixture until smooth, either with an immersion blender, or in an actual standing blender.

Garnish with the bacon and if you have any sage, feel free to fry some up and garnish with that as well.  This makes for a great seasonal cold-weather soup.