Marta Douglass' chestnut soup
“I have a recipe for chestnut soup that I got from Edith Reitsema, a Dutch woman, who was working at the place I studied at in my semester abroad in England my junior year. She would go out and harvest the chestnuts each year and individually slit and roast them. It was a long and hard process, but the soup is one of the best I’ve ever tasted.”
1 kg chestnuts (about 35 ounces or 2.2 pounds)
1 package celery stalks, chopped
4 onions, diced
3 12-ounce cartons of half & half
3 tablespoons of sesame oil
10 tablespoons of soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, pressed
5 cubes chicken bullion
8½ cups water
2 bay leaves
With a sharp knife, make a slit in the outer skin of the chestnuts, arrange them on a spread sheet and roast them at 400 F for 40 minutes (or more), then peel them.
Mix all of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 30 minutes. Blend to a smooth puree. Add some parsley to garnish.
— Recipe shared by Marta Douglass, MU cultural studies student