CHESTNUT SOUP w/BLACK TRUFFLES

By BobD

Ingredients

• 8 SERVINGS
• Try this elegant soup before a holiday dinner of venison, wild boar, or wild turkey.
• Ingredients
• • 3/4 cup Armagnac
• • 8 whole pitted prunes or use ready-to-use prunes in orange wine
• • 12 ounces button mushrooms, washed
• • 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• • 2 packs of peeled chestnuts
• • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• • 1 medium-size celery root, peeled, dark spots removed, and diced
• • Salt and white pepper
• • 1 tablespoon sugar
• • 4 cups chicken stock
• • 1 cup heavy cream
• • 2 cups skim milk, hot
• • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• • 1 fresh black truffle (optional)

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from dartagnan.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Place the Armagnac, prunes, and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover the pan, and allow the prunes to steep for 6 hours or overnight. If using our Prunes in Orange Wine skip this step.

2. Simmer the mushrooms in water for 1 hour. Remove and discard the mushrooms (there should be at least 1 cup of juice). Pulverize the dried porcini mushrooms in a coffee grinder.

3. Melt the butter over low heat in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the celery root, and cook gently for 5 minutes without browning. Add the peeled chestnuts, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the sugar, increase the heat, and cook for a few minutes, until the mixture caramelizes. Add the remaining Armagnac and cook for a minute. Pour in the reserved mushroom juice and the chicken stock, reduce the heat, and cook slowly for 15 minutes. Add the cream, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Transfer soup to a blender in batches, and purée thoroughly for several minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain purée through a fine sieve, and reheat. (Can be made up to this point a day in advance and refrigerated.)

4. Place 1 room-temperature drained prune in each of 8 soup bowls. Put the milk in a tall, slender container, and add i teaspoon of the porcini powder and the nutmeg. Using a nozzle on an espresso machine or a separate foaming device, foam the hot milk. Divide the soup among the soup bowls, and top with a scoop of the foam, a shaving of black truffle, if desired, and a parsley leaf. Serve immediately.