Châtaigniers en Velouté
Based on:
TypeSoup
Serves4 people
DateNovember 15, 2026
Van Gogh’s chestnut trees as a velvety soup: neatly presented, with a hidden sharp edge.
Creamy chestnut soup with green herb oil, served with four half chestnuts in a row on toast bases: the painting 'Flowering Chestnut Trees' as an edible scandal. The tidy plating hides a spicy twist inside.
Ingredients
- 400 g cooked chestnuts
- 1 leek
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 potato
- 1 liter vegetable stock
- 100 ml heavy cream
- 4 slices sturdy bread
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 25 g fresh parsley
- 25 g fresh chives
- 1 tsp strong mustard
- salt and pepper
Method
- Roughly chop onion, leek, celery and potato. Finely chop the garlic.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a soup pot. Sauté onion, garlic, leek and celery for 5 minutes.
- Add chestnuts and potato. Fry for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the cream and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.
- Toast the bread and cut each slice lengthwise into 8 narrow rectangles.
- Make herb oil: blend parsley and chives with 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt.
- Halve 4 chestnuts. Place each half, cut side down, on a toast stick.
- Pour the soup into deep bowls. Lay two toast-and-chestnut trees side by side in each bowl.
- Drizzle herb oil in abstract lines across the soup, evoking blossom or branches.
Serving notes
- Serve immediately so the toast stays crisp.
- Offer extra herb oil on the side for those who like more punch.
- For extra heat: add a pinch of chili flakes to the soup.