Chestnut soup

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 200 g chestnuts, cooked and vacuum-packed
• Butter, brown
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• 3 sprigs of parsley
• 2 pinches of chili flakes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 carnation(s)
• 0.2 liters of white wine
• 500 ml meat broth
• 1 cup of sweet cream
• salt and pepper
• 3 tsp lemon juice
• 4 slices of ham
• some chives, chopped

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Hot and tasty for cold days or festive at Christmas

Peel the onion and cut into small cubes. Cut the parsley stalks into small pieces. Roughly chop the leaves. Place the bay leaf, clove, and chili in a tea bag and tie a knot. Brown the chestnuts in a pan with a little brown butter. Then remove and set aside. Sauté the diced onion in the pan until translucent. Dust with powdered sugar. Deglaze the onions with half of the wine and reduce. Top up with meat stock, add the parsley (including the stalks), the remaining wine, and the chestnuts. Add the tea bags with the spices to the soup. Simmer gently for 25 minutes, closing the lid until a small crack is left. In the meantime, cut the ham into small strips. To do this, roll the ham lengthwise, cut into rolls, and also cut the rolls into small pieces. Remove the soup from the heat, remove the tea bags, add the cream, and puree the soup with a hand blender. Thin with water if necessary. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and chili, if desired. Ladle the hot soup into bowls, add ham slices, and garnish with chives.