Velvety Chestnut Soup

Cut the onion and the carrot into slices, and the leek lengthwise in half and then into thick slices. Remove the strings from the celery and cut it into thick slices as well.

Heat the butter along with the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

Add all the veggies into the pot along with the garlic (whole, without cutting it) and sauté them for 4-5 minutes until they are slightly golden.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces and add them to the pot. Sauté for one more minute.

Add the water, the vegetable bouillon cube, salt, pepper, the bay leaf, the thyme, and the nutmeg, and boil them for 1 hour until the vegetables are tender.

Place a pot with plenty of water over high heat. Score the chestnuts, creating a cross on their sides and boil them for 10′.

Drain them and remove their shell and inner skin. You can skip this step if you use ready-boiled chestnuts.

Add the peeled chestnuts to the pot with the vegetables and boil them for 20 more minutes, until they are tender. Optionally, you can set a few chestnuts aside to serve.

Remove the pot from the heat. Remove the bay leaf and the thyme sprigs, and beat the soup with an immersion blender until all the veggies and the chestnuts are mashed.

Place the pot over medium heat again. Add the heavy cream, stir, and let the soup boil for 1-2′. Remove the pot from the heat and check the seasoning.

Serve the soup in plates, garnishing with the chestnuts you set aside and some thyme.