Lentil and Chestnut Soup Recipe

By
Nick Kindelsperger
Nick Kindelsperger is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Nick Kindelsperger
Nick Kindelsperger is a food critic at the Chicago Tribune.  His food writing appears in The Washington Post, Newsweek, Epicurious, Baltimore Sun, Serious Eats, Grub Street, New York Magazine, and Tasting Table, among others.
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Updated May 13, 2019
Nick Kindelsperger

Chestnuts are usually the enemy of a quick meal. Roasting them and then removing their tough skins can take ages, especially if you're not particularly skilled at the process (like me). So I would have normally skipped right past this soup from Nigella Lawson's How To Eat if it hadn't called for canned chestnuts, which, it turns out, require absolutely no prep work. I can't comment on whether they taste as wonderful as the regular variety, but they sure do work well here.

Part of the success of the soup also comes from the red lentils, which are cooked until nearly falling apart. They look a little worn out by the end, but that doesn't matter much considering you're going to puree everything up at the end. The result is a creamy, slightly nutty soup that's more more complex than it looks. The cream sounds superfluous, but the contrast of the warm pureed soup and the cool cream works extremely well.

Recipe Details

Lentil and Chestnut Soup Recipe

Active 30 mins
Total 75 mins
Serves 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 small onion, minced

  • 1/2 leek, minced

  • 1 medium carrot, minced

  • 1 celery stalk, minced

  • 1 cup red lentils

  • 6 1/3 cups vegetable stock

  • 8 ounces canned chestnuts

  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

  • Heavy cream, for serving.

Directions

  1. Pour the oil into a large Dutch oven set over medium heat. When warm, add the minced onion, leek, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften but don't brown.

  2. Add the lentils, stir well, and then pour in the stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the lentils are very soft, about 40 minutes. Add the chestnuts and simmer for 20 more minutes.

  3. Carefully puree the soup in a blender. (You'll probably have to do this in batches.) When done, return the soup to the pot to warm it back up. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of parsley and a drizzle of heavy cream.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
239Calories
9gFat
34gCarbs
6gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories239
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g12%
Saturated Fat 3g16%
Cholesterol 11mg4%
Sodium 804mg35%
Total Carbohydrate 34g12%
Dietary Fiber 6g20%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 16mg78%
Calcium 51mg4%
Iron 2mg12%
Potassium 505mg11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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