BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CHESTNUT CREAM

Soup - Lactose and gluten free - Can be vegetarian (READ footnotes)

This was the soup we made for Thanksgiving dinner: it was a success! It's on the sweet verge, but nicely countered by herbs and bratwurst. I love butternut squash (if you check my recipes, you'll find several with this ingredient) and I love chestnuts, too! It's good at room temperature, too, but the bratwurst crumbles need to be warm.

1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed
20 chestnuts
2 bratwurst links, casing removed and crumbled
2 rosemary sprigs
4 sage leaves
1 garlic clove, unpeeled
5 tbsp Italian Extra virgin olive oil
Italian sea salt
Chicken or vegetable broth


First of all cook chestnuts; arrange in a small saucepan, along with 1 sprig of rosemary, covered with water and bring to a boil. Once it boils, add a pinch of Italian sea salt and lower to simmer, cover with a lid and simmer until chestnuts are soft, about 40 minutes.

Arrange the diced butternut squash in a saucepan with lid, with the remaining rosemary and sage. Cover with broth and bring to a boil, add a pinch of Italian sea salt, then lower to simmer, cover with a lid and cook until the butternut squash is soft. Since it has to be blended into a cream, it doesn't matter how big the cubes are. Season with a little sea salt, if needed.

Once the chestnuts are done, drain and peel them (both outer and inner skin). Reserve 8 whole ones and transfer the other ones with the butternut squash. If you can, try to detach all the leaves from rosemary sprigs. Blend butternut squash (with chestnuts and herbs) into a cream and keep it warm.

In a small non-stick skillet warm 1 tbsp olive oil and sautee the garlic with the bratwurst crumbles. When it's almost golden, add the reserved chestnuts, broken into pieces and sautee everything together for a couple minutes. Discard garlic.

Serve cream into individual bowls, topped with the bratwurst-chestnut crumbles and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil.

This recipe serves 4-5


- I said that the size of butternut squash don't matter, the smaller they are, the quicker they'll cook.
- You may not need all the broth you cook the squash in: just add it little by little, as needed. It has to be a rather thick cream.
- You can use pre-cooked and peeled chestnuts, if you find them. In this case, use both rosemary sprigs while cooking the squash.
- Please, don't use Italian sausages unless you find them without fennel seeds: the fennel flavor does not combine well with this recipe.
- And... do not use Parmigiano, as well.
- Savory is a herb whose flavor is similar to oregano, but not as strong.
- It's lactose and gluten free. For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth and leave bratwurst out.

How to peel and cut butternut squash: