Ready for a unique experience? You’ll find one in this meal of Pumpkin Chestnut Soup served with Red Chile Crackers. Both recipes provided below.
Several things inspired me to make this pumpkin and chestnut soup:
- A cute little sugar pumpkin sitting on the windowsill looking for a purpose other than just being cute
- The local co-op having fresh Chestnuts for half price
- It’s fall and the weather has turned chilly, so it’s soup time!
- New plates that friends gave me for my birthday, that are perfect for pumpkin soup!
With all that inspiration, how could I not make it?! In addition to making this soup, I also branched out a bit and tried my hand at some homemade red chile crackers.p; They turned out quite good and were a nice crunchy complement to this soup. The recipe for these crackers is at the end of this post.
Roasted Pumpkin and Chestnut Soup
A highly seasonal soup made with the season’s pumpkins and chestnuts. The Total Time below includes making the pumpkin puree’ and roasting the chestnut, both of which could be done a day ahead.
“*” See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 3 cups roasted pumpkin puree’
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil*
- 1 garlic clove, minced*
- 1 medium sweet onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 carrots (about 1 cup), coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup roasted chestnuts*, chopped
- 4 to 5 cups water, vegetable or chicken broth or a mix of broth and water
- Juice from half a lemon
- ¼ tsp. salt
- Cracked white pepper
- *Replace both with 1 Tbsp. garlic infused olive oil
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1.5 Tbsp. whipping cream
- 2 tsp. Maple syrup
- Cut a small pumpkin in half. Drizzle olive oil over the pumpkin meat and sprinkle with black pepper. Roast, cut side up in a casserole dish at 400° F for 45 minutes or until a fork inserted into the pulp goes in easily. (I like roasted cut side up to get the browned edges.) Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle. Using a spoon, remove the seeds and strings. Discard. Scoop the pulp from the skin into a bowl. Puree’ with an immersion blender until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender.
- I used the method at Kathy Maister’s startcooking.com. It worked great!
- Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute’ 2 minutes.
- Add the carrots and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and chestnuts. Cook another 2 minutes.
- Add the water/broth, salt, lemon juice, and pumpkin pulp. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook 30 minutes.
- Let cool down a little. puree’ with an immersion blender or regular blender. You may need to add more water to get the consistency you like in a pureed soup.
- Finish with a generous amount of fresh crack white pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Ladle soup into bowls and top with the maple yogurt topping.
Topping
- Whisk together the yogurt, cream and maple syrup.
- Transfer into a small plastic sandwich bag (or pastry bag if you have one).
- Clip off a tiny bit of on corner of the bag.
- Squeeze the topping onto the top of the soup in the desired pattern. (This was fun, but I need more practice.)
Division of tasks – On the weekend I roasted the pumpkin and chestnuts. On Tuesday I made the soup which made for a very quick dish on Tuesday.
To get the 3/4 cup of nut meat, purchase at least a pound of fresh chestnuts. If you can’t find fresh chestnuts, you might be able to find them at a specialty store or order on-line.
Vegan – The soup itself is vegan, but the topping is not. To keep it vegan, you could either just eliminate the cream based topping and top with crushed herbs such as sage or dill weed, or top with minced roasted chestnuts. Or you could use soy, almond or coconut based yogurt and cream.
Red Chile Pepper Crackers
A few days before making this soup I found a Rosemary Croccantini Flatbread Cracker recipe over at Fifteen Spatulas. I had been wanting to make these crackers and this soup offered the perfect opportunity. The soup needed something crispy, but then it also screamed “spicy”. So I made these wonderful crackers, replacing the rosemary with 1/2 tsp. red chile powder (medium). Before putting them in the oven, I sprinkled the dough with garlic powder instead of salt and pepper. They were excellent and a great complement to this soup.
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup cold water
- ½ tsp. red chile powder, medium to hot
- garlic powder
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. If you have a pizza stone, place the stone in the oven to heat.
- Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Drizzle in the oil and continue to whisk.
- Slowly add the water, mixing with a spatula until the dough starts to come together into a ball.
- Dump the dough onto a lightly flour coated surface and knead for about 10 seconds.
- Add the chile powder and knead into the dough. Continue to knead to for about another minute. Your dough should be a little tacky, but not sticky. If the dough is too sticky, add flour at about 1 Tbsp. at a time until you get the right texture.
- Divide the dough into four pieces and cover with a towel. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes so the gluten can relax.
- Place a piece of dough on a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with garlic powder. Roll as thin as possible using a rolling pin.
- Spray the rolled dough with water (this helps it get crispy). Sprinkle with more garlic powder if desired.
- Transfer dough to the pizza stone or a sheet pan and bake for about 3 minutes on each side. Keep an eye on them because differences in thicknesses can alter the time. Remove when both sides are crispy brown. The crackers will become more crispy as they cool.
- Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
- Once cool, break into pieces and enjoy!
If you need more ideas for a creative pumpkin soup, then check out these three soups. They are all delicious and quite different.
A great idea for using that bag of chestnuts that is about to expire in my cupboard, I didn’t know what to do with it! This soup sounds perfect!
Thanks Adina! The chestnut process was a first for me so I was happy for the challenge. The soup turned out quite delicious. I hope you enjoy!
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This is soup is beautiful, MJ! I love the color and the pumpkin, carrots, chestnuts and lemon sound like a marvelous soup. I’ve only tried chestnuts a few times, and always by themselves – and you’re right, there’s something strange about the texture that I don’t care for. But in a soup – can’t go wrong! Thanks so much for sharing and I hope you have a wonderful holiday!
This looks too pretty to eat!! Thanks for sharing at Foodtastic Friday! Another great way to enjoy pumpkin!!
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your photos are looking fabulous darling!!
also, i have a pumpkin patiently waiting to be used right now – i may well utilize your recipe here 🙂
thank you for sharing your post with us at the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up! I hope to see you again this week with more incredible seasonal and whole/real fresh food ideas 🙂 xo, kristy
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Thanks for sharing at Must Try Monday. Featuring you today!
This sounds SO good and the presentation is BEAUTIFUL! I would love to have you link up with my Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week!
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/09/clever-chicks-blog-hop-2-featured-post.html
I hope to see you there!
Cheers!
Kathy
The Chicken Chick
So glad you joined in on Must Try Monday! Your soup looks great, and it’s great to have you!
Pumpkin and Chestnut sounds like a great combo! Thanks for sharing with us at Foodie Friends Friday! The crackers sound awesome too!
Thanks Cindy! Oh yes – we enjoyed the crackers as much as the soup! 🙂
I have been looking for new pumpkin recipes to try this year, and this one is going on the list. Thanks for linking up on Foodie Friends Friday! Please come back Sunday and vote.
Thanks Michelle! See you Sunday!
What a beautifully presented soup! I tried creating coconut milk swirls on one of my soups once……but didn;t manage anything quite as attractive as this! Thanks for sharing this with Sunday Night Soup Night, look forward to seeing you again soon!
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What a lovely soup! I love the addition of chestnuts to the soup. It really looks delicious.
What a fabulous flavour combination – your soup sounds wonderful! I really like those red chile pepper crackers as well. Thank you for sharing this delicious post with the Hearth and Soul hop. I now know what to make for lunch next time it’s cold and grey outside!
What a beautiful presentation for your Pumpkin and Chestnut Soup. The recipe looks delicious and we would really enjoy this great bowl of soup. Thank you so much for sharing with our 1st Anniversary Party at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great week end and come back soon!
Miz Helen
I love the addition of chestnuts to this soup, sounds delicious! I’m hosting a weekly blog carnival specifically for soups, stocks and chowders, every Sunday! I would love it if you would come over and post this recipe. Here’s a link with more information:
http://easynaturalfood.com/2011/10/17/introducing-sunday-night-soup-night/
I hope to see you there!
Debbie
What a gorgeous photo! I will have to try this. I love anything pumpkin!
Got to say MJ this soup look beautiful! Love the combination of flavors and your photos are really tempting!!
Congrats on winning the Food Frenzy Challenge 🙂
I love, love soup and I love the flavors you used here. The photo is so pretty,too! Glad to cook along with you on blog hop!
lovely soup MJ! i love pumpkin soup as it is but adding chestnut makes it more delish!
thanks for sharing!
Ooh, new dishes for your birthday! I LOVE them! Just perfect for showcasing this recipe. What a thoughtful friend! ~~Kathy
The chestnuts are such a lovely addition to this pumpkin soup MJ – and your birthday plates are the perfect match for this stunning dish. Love the yogurt cream design – so pretty!
so pretty! Love the photos. Makes me miss roasted chestnuts–they were on every street corner in Seoul in the wintertime–not so much in Texas. It’s 71 degrees this morning–just finished running in a tank top! Thanks for another great recipe 😉
Mmmmmm… Looks gorgeous soup! I would like to strike this off my list too.
That soup looks so comforting, MJ! Lovely presentation too!
MJ!!! Your crackers are so beautiful!!! I’m so glad you made them and that they went well for you. Also, your pumpkin soup is stunning too. What a beautiful design and vibrant color!
I was sent over from Dee’s site! This soup looks so beautiful and delicious! I love that you used chestnut!
What a gorgeous soup…truly autumnal! And the crackers make a perfect pairing~
What a yummy looking meal! I’ve been wanting to cook with chestnuts but have heard it’s a ton of work to peel them so that’s kind of scared me off for now. But I bet it’s worth it.
Hi Aunt MJ 🙂
Wow, this page is amazing. I’ve been hearing about it from Mom and now can finally see for myself. As someone who will be living on my own soon, I’m going to “favorite” this site, and use it as reference often. Everything looks delicious, makes me think of when I was visiting and we had such scrumptious home cooked meals, yum. Anyway, LOVE YOU, talk soon.
Thanks so much JT! I hope you do visit often for ideas. It’s time to learn how to cook! 🙂 Please just call or send an email if you have a question or want a specific dish. I know you’re getting a bunch of great recipes from your mom. Love you Darlin!
Oh my goodness! Look at that beautiful soup! We have soup night once a week around here and I know this will be gracing our table soon! I love the addition of chestnuts to a pumpkin soup. Perfect!
This looks really beautiful bowl of deliciousness!!!!
Love the way you have presented it…
yumm…..
MJ this is a beautiful soup. I love your design with the cream. and your photos are fab. Love chestnuts too, I just bought some and plan on roasting them. I am going over to see the crackers too at Fifteen Spatulas too. Thanks!
Is it weird I wish I were a teeny tiny person so I can use your bowl of soup as my own personal pumpkin hot tub? Yea, it’s totally weird… Never mind… Love the soup, love the addition of chestnuts, diggin’ the new plates – And the crackers? You’re blowin’ my mind, here…
I was just thinking “I need a chestnut soup recipe for next week” and here is this post! Thanks! Can’t wait to try it for Thanksgiving, although I’ll be using squash instead (lots of pumpkin things on the menu).
Love chestnuts..but never once thought of combining them with pumpkin in a soup. Absolutely brilliant, and absolutely beautiful to look at!
Chestnut are one of autumn food in Japan but living in the US (or California) it doesn’t look like people care for chestnut, so I was actually VERY happy seeing your recipe here with pumpkin! I’m bookmarking this. Love the photography of the soup. So pretty with the pattern (like latte!).
Lve the soup like I had mentioned and also love…love..love the crackers ,I have to make them . Thanx for the comments on my blog . I’ll def be back to explore more . Cheers 🙂 .
Thanks everyone for the wonderful comments, especially about the photography. These were my first photos taken with my new camera and without my photographer husband helping me out! It was fun!
Your Pumpkin soup looks wonderful. I’ve made Butternut Squash Soup but never soup using pumpkin. Not only does it look silky smooth but I adore the toppings that you use. I’ll have to save this to make on a cold day this winter.
hI, mj First time in your blog what a beautiful blog you have, pumpkin and chestnut, lovely combination.., I have some chestnuts in my freezer, I should give this a try.., beautiful presentation too..
i love how beautiful this soup looks! and the chestnut pumpkin combo is perfect for fall. sending some #squashlove to u!
Pumpkin and chestnut?!
What a lovely combination!
Why didn`t I think of this?
Thank you for sharing-
Your soup sounds amazing, and LOOKS amazing! Your food photography is something else. I love the drizzle pattern you made!
I’ve never cooked with chestnuts and never see them in the stores here; but I’ll try some of the ethnic specialty markets. I don’t recall eating chestnuts per se; but I remember, when we were kids we would gather chinkapins or dwarf chestnuts at Grandma and Grandpa’s. I liked eating them right from the shell. Grandma would roast some in a pan on top of the old wood burning pot-bellied stove in the living room. I remember the hissing of the escaping steam as they quivered in the hot black cast iron skillet. I haven’t thought of that in years. Even if I don’t get around to cooking with them, thanks for the memory.
Thanks so much for sharing your memories of times that I don’t remember! 🙂 I’m sure I was too young which is a shame since it sounds like fun at grandma’s!
What a gorgeous soup! I have never roasted chestnuts before, but it doesnt seem as hard as I thought. Must give it a try!!!
Looks fantastic! I’ve never cooked with chestnuts, but I have a pumpkin on my counter just waiting to be turned into this tasty soup!
MJ your soups always come out so gorgeous. Love the photos. I’ve actually never had/tried a chestnut either (that I’m aware of) and this seems like the perfect recipe to give them a shot. Plus you can never go wrong with spicy crackers!
Wow, just look at how pretty that soup is – I can just imagine the flavour too. Loving the look of those flat-breads too. I bet they make a perfect addition to this! Thanks for sharing this… it’s coming up to lunch-time here now and I’m getting really hungry 😀
Oh MJ! This soup is absolutely beautiful! I have a confession. I’ve never tried chestnuts! But I love pumpkin and squash soups! And this looks so inviting! I love your bowls and plates! (Actually, that’s one of the best things about blogging to me…checking out everyone else’s stuff!). But they go perfectly with the soup! I’m glad you had so many inspirations….now I just might be inspired to try chestnuts! : )
This soup is just stunning! Elegant and perfect for fall. This is going on the list to make soon!
I love chestnuts but I have never thougt of putting them in soup!
I love the idea and can only imagine the flavor
That soup looks so warming and delicious! I think I need some of those crackers too please. I’ve never made my own crackers but I was saying yesterday I need to start. (Can’t stand store bought crackers.) I’m glad your cute little pumpkin turned into soup! Beautiful photograph!
This looks absolutely delicious! I found you over at Deelicious Sweets!
MJ, this soup looks delicious! I’m glad the ingredient I chose for this month’s challenge inspired you!
I’d love the combination between pumpkin and chesnut!
And those plates are delightful! And those crackers?! I’m hungry already! 😀
What a beautiful soup and recipe! I am the same with chestnuts, the dried versions are wonderful, but the fresh…love the aroma and taste, but the texture if off to me. Great idea to combine them in this soup 🙂
I’m so glad I’m not the only one that finds the texture strange! 🙂 Now I need to find the dried version so I can give those a try. Thanks for the comments.
What a lovely soup MJ! Love the presentation and chestnuts and pumpkin are a great combination!
This is another wonderful addition to Squash Love Blog Hop! I love chestnuts, too. I think a 50-pound sack of chestnuts is a giveaway ;-).
Beautiful photos and beautiful soup! Yum!
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