Chestnut Soup with Butternut Squash

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons for food. The palette shifts from vibrant greens to earthy browns and warm oranges as pumpkins and persimmons arrive alongside sweet potatoes and mushrooms. When I saw chestnuts stacked next to a pile of butternut squash at my favorite grocery store, the thought of turning them into a soup started to gel.

The butternut squash gives this chestnut soup a smooth, creamy base and a vibrant orange color. The chestnuts add body and a sweet, nutty flavor that tastes like autumn to me. I used roasted Japanese chestnuts because that’s what was on the shelf, but raw chestnuts will work. You can also use other varieties, such as European or American chestnuts, but they’ll give the soup an earthier brown color. If your chestnuts aren’t already peeled, remove the shells and the astringent brown skin around each nut.

As for the butternut squash, roasting it first concentrates its flavor and brings out its sweetness, but firing up the oven and scrubbing a sheet pan is a lot of unnecessary effort. Instead, I let the vegetables soften and brown slowly in a few generous glugs of olive oil. The browned layer of fond that forms on the bottom of the pot adds a marvelous depth to the soup, and you’ll have one less pan to scrub.

For a little freshness, I add a sprig of rosemary, but you can swap it for thyme or basil, or even vanilla. I like serving this with a small dollop of crème fraîche and dill for tangy richness and fresh contrast. It’s also good with garlic croutons, grated hard cheese, or a drizzle of your favorite infused oil.