Warm yourself up from the inside out and boost your energy by mixing up your vegetable soups with some autumnal chestnuts. These fruits are full of slow release sugars, perfect when combined with fast release sugars of vegetables.

Read on for a delicious autumn soup with pumpkin, chestnuts and leeks!

Ingredients:

         – 1 Pumpkin

         – 1 Leek

         – 1 Onion

         – 1 Garlic clove

         – 250g chestnuts

         – Olive oil

         – Salt, pepper, thyme, coriander..

Method:

1)    Start by cooking the chestnuts: using a sharp knife make a small incision along the light part of the chestnuts and plunge them into boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain, then peel off the skin.

2)    Whilst the chestnuts are cooking, wash, peel and cut the pumpkin and leek into chunks, then cook either in a pressure cooker (7 minutes), steam (10-15 mins) or boil (20 mins).

3)    Finely slice the onion and the garlic, heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion and garlic until soft and translucent.

4)    Combine all ingredients and blend the vegetables to your desired consistency. Taste before seasoning and then do so accordingly with salt, pepper, thyme, coriander.. You can also add some water, milk or cream to adjust the consistency and to obtain a creamier texture.

Serve in a bowl or soup plate and enjoy!

Used either as a starter or side dish and served piping hot, your autumn pumpkin, chestnut and leek soup can be kept up to several days in the fridge. Make sure to heat through evenly before serving, especially when using cream.

For all lovers of bacon — Along with the onion and garlic in step 3, add bacon rashers to the pan and serve them as a crispy, smokey soup topping.

Dietary tip — Both practical and affordable, pulses can be used to replace the potatoes in your soups. Leaving little pieces will also encourage chewing and will help you to feel fuller, guaranteeing hunger satisfaction!

Bon Appétit!