Zuppa di Castagne e Ceci (Chestnut & Chickpea Soup)

My love for chestnuts could probably be attributed to the fact that I was born in Piedmont and spent three years of my childhood in an area of Italy where chestnuts were in abundance. Also known as Piemonte is a region in Italy located in the far north whose Alps form a border with France and Switzerland. The mountains nearby formed the landscape seen from our home, and the hills filled with chestnut trees were our playground.  Many autumn weekends were spent frolicking for chestnuts and mamma would cook them in many different ways.  

Nowadays we tend to indulge from the beginning to the end of their autumn season. My husband prefers them roasted; I on the other hand like to explore different ways to enjoy them. I love chestnuts the way mamma would prepare them by peeling their first skin and boiling in water with a bay leaf, rendering them so flavorsome. There are a few family recipes that I have shared before that range from the savory, as in the ravioli filled with chestnuts and mushrooms, to the sweet, in which chestnuts and chocolate fill mamma's panzerotti.

Chestnuts Australia has many recipes to try if you love chestnuts as much as we do, as well as a wealth of other information. This soup recipe that I share with you here was spotted on SBS which I thought would be lovely to try now that the evenings are getting cooler. I slightly adjusted the quantities to feed our family of four, and added an additional aromatic - the sage.

Zuppa di Castagne e Ceci (Chestnut & Chickpea Soup)

Ingredients for 4 people

400 grams of dried chickpeas

400 grams of fresh chestnuts

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 small brown onion finely chopped

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

sprig of  rosemary

sprig of sage

bay leaf

salt

Soak the chickpeas for at least one night, then boil them in unsalted water for 1 ½ hours. Once cooked, keep them aside in their water.

In another pot, boil the chestnuts whole in salted water for 20 minutes, or until half cooked through. Drain the water and allow to slightly cool down. Chestnuts are difficult to peel when they are cold, so work quickly to remove both skins and chop the pulp coarsely. 

Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the crushed garlic and chopped onion until soft and translucent.  Add salt and flavour with sprigs of rosemary, sage and the bay leaf. Add the cooked chickpeas to the pot with 1 litre of the chickpea water, adding another pinch of salt. Simmer for 20 minutes and then add the cooked chestnuts. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes so that all the flavours combine. Turn off the heat and taste for salt. 

The soup consistency depends on how you like it. If you prefer it creamy, remove the rosemary, bay leaf and sage and blitz one third of the soup with immersion blender.  Alternatively leave it brothy as I have. Serve it hot with a drizzle of olive oil - un filo d'olio as mamma would say and some crusty bread on the side.

 Enjoy!