Vegan chestnut soup with apple and thyme

Vegan chestnut soup made with ready-cooked chestnuts, celeriac, apple and thyme, blended until smooth and served with diced apple. A gluten-free starter or lunch in 35 minutes.

At a glance

• Serves 4
• Prep time: 15 min
• Cooking time: 25 min
• Total time: 40 min
• Calories: 301 kcal per serving
• Protein: 5 g
• Fat: 7 g
• Carbs: 50 g

Ingredients

• 400g chestnuts
• 2 apples
• 100g celeriac
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1l vegetable stock
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 pinch of nutmeg

Method

You’ll need: saucepan · stick blender · chopping board · knife · ladle

1. Dice the onion, celeriac and one apple and soften everything in the olive oil for 5 min.
2. Add the chestnuts and half the thyme and toast them for 2 min.
3. Pour in the stock, cover and simmer the soup for 20 min.
4. Take out the thyme and blend the soup until smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper, nutmeg and apple cider vinegar.
5. Cut the second apple into small dice and serve the soup topped with diced apple and thyme leaves.

Good to know

Chestnuts taste like a Christmas market and make this soup velvety without any cream. With ready-cooked vacuum-packed chestnuts, it's done in a good half hour. The raw diced apple on top adds freshness.

Swaps

Chestnuts → red kuri squash (then cook for 30 min). Apple → pear. Celeriac → parsnip. Thyme → sage.

Cooking tips

Toast the chestnuts briefly with the veg to bring out their flavour. If the soup is too thick, thin it with a little stock.

Storage

Without the diced apple, 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.

Allergens

Vegan, gluten-free and free from nuts as defined by allergen labelling (sweet chestnuts don't count); contains celery. Suitable for children and in pregnancy.

Dairy-free recipes