Chestnut soup with caramelized walnuts

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 400 g sweet potatoes
• 2 onions, red
• 3 tbsp butter
• 400 g chestnuts, pre-cooked
• 4 tsp vegetable stock powder
• 250 ml white wine
• 6 tbsp walnut kernels
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 8 sprigs of marjoram
• 1 apple, red
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 150 g cream
• 1 pinch of chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Peel and wash the sweet potato and cut into large cubes. Peel and finely dice the onion. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion and sweet potato. Add the chestnuts and brown them, then pour in the wine and bring to a boil briefly. Stir in the stock, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, roughly chop the walnuts and lightly toast them in a dry pan. Sprinkle with sugar, add 1 teaspoon of butter, and let them caramelize, stirring constantly. Spread out on baking paper to cool. Wash the apples thoroughly and slice them thinly. Add the cream and half of the marjoram to the soup and blend until smooth. Then heat again and season with salt, pepper, and chili. Serve the soup in bowls, arrange the apple slices on top, and carefully place the walnuts on top, making sure the apples don’t sink. Sprinkle with the remaining marjoram. Tip: If using fresh chestnuts, cut a cross-shaped incision all around the brown skin and bake on a baking sheet at 230°C for about 10 to 20 minutes, until the skin cracks open. Then peel off the skin, rub off the skin around the kernels with a cloth, and use as described above.