Winter root soup with thyme chestnuts

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 400 g celeriac
• 200 g parsley root(s)
• 200 g Jerusalem artichoke
• 100 g potatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 shallots
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 liter vegetable stock
• 250 g whipped cream
• some salt
• some cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 100 g chestnuts, vacuum-packed
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 100 ml vegetable stock
• 1 bunch of thyme
• 10 g butter

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 25 minutes

For the soup, clean and peel the celery, parsley roots, Jerusalem artichokes, and potatoes, and cut them into 1 cm pieces. Finely dice the shallots. Sauté the shallots in hot butter until translucent. Add the vegetables and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the stock and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil over low heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Whip 100 g of cream until stiff peaks form and chill. Remove the bay leaf and purée the soup with the remaining cream. Season to taste with salt, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice. For the thyme chestnuts, cut the chestnuts into sixths. Caramelize the sugar in a pan until light brown. Add the stock and cook over low heat until the caramel has dissolved. Stir in the chestnuts and the torn thyme leaves and cook until the liquid has almost evaporated. Then stir in the butter. Just before serving, bring the soup back to a boil. Add the whipped cream, purée the soup until frothy, and serve with the thyme-flavored chestnuts.