Cauliflower and Chestnut Soup
One of my favourite smells and tastes of autumn is chestnuts roasting over charcoal from a street vendor — something you can find on almost any corner in Portugal. It’s not easy to recreate that at home, but I still love chestnuts cooked in any form: boiled with fennel, roasted on their own, served as a side to pork loin — they’re a staple on my family’s table during this season.
Cauliflower wasn’t a vegetable I enjoyed until one day, on holiday and in a most unexpected place, I tried a delicious cauliflower soup. Ever since, I’ve embraced it completely and now eat it raw with dips, in soups, starters, side dishes, or even vegan mains.
One day, while looking at my kitchen cupboard, I decided to try blending these two favourite foods — and the soup below was born. It was such a success that it now appears regularly on our table for everyday meals and, with a few nice garnishes, even for special dinners with friends.
Serves 4 (can easily be doubled to serve 8)
Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus extra to serve)
1 medium onion (100–150 g) roughly chopped
1 medium cauliflower cut into florets
c.200g cooked chestnuts (they can be the frozen)
Thyme, bay leaf, and other aromatic herbs – whole, so they’re easy to remove before blending – or bouquet garni
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Optional: sour cream or Kefir for serving
Optional: chopped and fried chorizo for serving
Optional: chopped seeds or hazelnuts for serving
Equipment
Large mixing bowl or blender jug
Hand / stick blender or blender
Large cooking pot with lid
Method
1. Bring the pot to a medium heat (or 5 out of 9).
2. Add the olive oil and onion and sauté the onion for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the cauliflower, aromatic herbs and pinch of salt and pepper to the onion and cover with water reserving a few florets for decoration.
4. Let the vegetables cook on low heat until the cauliflower is soft, usually for 30 minutes.
5. Add the chestnuts and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Transfer the soup based to the large mixing bowl or jug and remove the aromatic herbs.
7. Blend the mixture until smooth and creamy (I prefer a thick pancake‑batter consistency).
8. If you find the soup too thin, put it back to the pot and let it boil a little longer.
9. Conversely, if it is too thick to your liking, add a bit more water or stock.
10. To serve, I like to garnish the soup with a variation of the leftover florets, sour cream, chorizo, seeds, hazelnuts and a drizzle of more olive oil.
Tips
A thick sourdough bread toast goes wonderfully with this soup.
Make double the quantity and keep the leftovers for another meal.
The soup will last in the fridge for about 5 days and can be frozen. If frozen, just leave it outside the fridge/freezer for a few hours before your desired mealtime. To reheat, transfer the soup to a large saucepan over low to medium heat (3 or 4 out of 9) until it starts boiling.