Kale and chestnut soup

As a result of a quick trip down to my local Waitrose this lunchtime I’ve returned to my office heavily-laden with kale (one of my favourite leafy greens) and with my arms full of chestnuts – an ingredient you don’t see often in the supermarkets so I thought I’d give it a go!

Judging by their bulging presence on the shelves, both kale and chestnuts are good at this time of the year and luckily for me my all-time favourite chef, small-holder and outdoors extraordinaire Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has a recipe that will whip these little beauties into a taste frenzy.

February is upon us already which means that while the days are finally getting longer, the mornings are still frosty and the breezes still bitter so a hearty soup is definitely order of the day. While this recipe is for four people I like to give it a little twist – adding carrots for an extra vegetably treat and a nice contrast in colour. I also like to bulk up the amount of bacon in the recipe as the smoky, sweet meat is a perfect compliment to the tangy tasting kale.

Ingredients

- 500g chestnuts
- 500g kale
- 250g bacon
- 1ltr stock (vegetable or game)
- 4-5 medium carrots (roughly chopped)

Take the chestnuts and with a sharp knife make a small slit in the shell of each one. Be careful of those precious pinkies! Plunge the chestnuts into a pan of boiling water and once water has come back to the boil simmer for 3-4 minutes. Drain the chestnuts and leave to cool until they can be handled. Once cooled, peel off the skin, including the brown inner skin.

Chestnuts can sometimes be hard to come by but brands like Merchant Gourmet and Clement Faugier produce vacuum packed cooked and peeled chestnuts which can be a good alternative. These are widely available in most high-street supermarkets.

Wash and trim the kale, cutting away the tougher stalks, and shred coarsely.

Roughly dice the bacon and in a heavy-bottomed pan fry gently over a medium heat until slightly crisp. I prefer to use good quality back bacon with a thick layer of fat or leftover ham – both have enough fat around the meat to be fried without oil. If you can’t get these then fry the bacon in a little olive oil.

In a large pan bring a litre of stock to the boil. Simmer the peeled chestnuts until the chestnuts are tender. Lift the chestnuts out of the stock with a slotted spoon and add the carrots to the stock. Take about a quarter of the chestnuts and mash with a fork. Once mashed, stir back into the stock to thicken it. Roughly chop the remaining chestnuts and return these to the stock.

Add the kale and bacon to the stock (along with the bacon juices) and simmer over a medium heat for 3 minutes – ideally the kale should still be fresh and green, not stewed.

Season to taste and serve in a big bowl with crusty bread.

This soup is best enjoyed wearing your lounging-about clothes sitting in front of a warming fire!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner