Spicy chestnut, pumpkin and pancetta soup

Recipe by: Chestnuts Australia

chestnutsaustralia.com.au

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25 Collected

Difficulty

Easy

Category

Soups

Main Ingredient

Chestnuts

Prep:

20 min + chestnut prep time

Cook:

40 minutes

Serves:

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Spicy chestnut, pumpkin and pancetta soup

Ingredients:

Chestnuts

700g fresh chestnuts (to make 500g chestnuts for soup recipe below)

Soup

1 ½ tbsp olive oil
100g sliced pancetta, chopped
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 long red chillies, deseeded and chopped
500g cooked and peeled chestnuts (prepped from fresh in part one of recipe)
750g peeled and chopped butternut pumpkin
5 cups chicken stock
Reduced fat sour cream and extra sliced long red chilli, to serve

Method:

Chestnuts

Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced)
Cut a shallow cross into the flat side of each chestnut shell. Place prepared chestnuts onto a baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the shells split open
Once cooked, remove chestnuts from the heat and wrap in a clean tea towel for 5 minutes. While chestnuts are still warm, quickly peel off the outer brown shell and remove the papery thin skin underneath

Soup

Heat 2 tsp oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes or until crispy. Transfer to a plate. Set aside
Heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in the pan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic and chillies and cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes until softened
Add chestnuts and pumpkin and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in stock and three-quarters of the pancetta. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes or until pumpkin and chestnuts are tender
Puree soup with a stick blender until smooth. Season to taste. Cover and bring to the boil over medium heat. Ladle soup into serving bowls. Top each with a dollop of sour cream, the remaining pancetta and extra sliced red chilli and serve

Measures

Cup Sizes (Australian)

Cup	Metric
1/4 cup	60ml
1/3 cup	80ml
1/2 cup	125ml
1 cup	250ml

Spoon Sizes (Australian)

Spoon	Metric
1/4 teaspoon	1.25ml
1/2 teaspoon	2.5ml
1 teaspoon	5ml
2 teaspoons	10ml
1 tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons)	20ml

Oven temperatures

Celsius (electric)	Celsius (fan forced)	Fahrenheit	Gas
120º	100º	250º	1	Warm – Very Slow
150º	130º	300º	2	Warm - Slow
160º	140º	325º	3	Moderately Slow
180º	160º	350º	4	Moderate
190º	170º	375º	5	Moderately Hot
200º	180º	400º	6	Hot
240º	220º	475º	7	Very Hot

If you are using a fan-forced oven please note your cooking time may be a little quicker, so a good idea is to check your food a little earlier

Liquid Measures

metric	cup	imperial
30ml		1 fluid ounce
60ml	1/4 cup	2 fluid ounce
80ml	1/3 cup	2 3/4 fluid ounce
100ml		3 1/2 fluid ounce
125ml	1/2 cup	4 fluid ounce
150ml		5 fluid ounce
180ml	3/4 cup	6 fluid ounce
200ml		7 fluid ounce
250ml	1 cup	8 3/4 fluid ounce
310ml	1 1/4 cups	10 1/2 fluid ounce
375ml	1 1/2 cups	13 fluid ounce
430ml	1 3/4 cups	15 fluid ounce
475ml		16 fluid ounce
500ml	2 cups	17 fluid ounce
625ml	2 1/2 cups	21 1/2 fluid ounce
750ml	3 cups	26 fluid ounce
1L	4 cups	35 fluid ounce
1.25L	5 cups	44 fluid ounce
1.5L	6 cups	52 fluid ounce
2L	8 cups	70 fluid ounce
2.5L	10 cups	88 fluid ounce

Dry Weights

10g	1/4 ounce
15g	1/2 ounce
30g	1 ounce
60g	2 ounce
90g	3 ounce
125g	4 ounce (1/4 pound)
155g	5 ounce
185g	6 ounce
220g	7 ounce
250g	8 ounce (1/2 pound)
280g	9 ounce
315g	10 ounce
345g	11 ounce
375g	12 ounce (3/4 pound)
410g	13 ounce
440g	14 ounce
470g	15 ounce
500g (1/2 kg)	16 ounce (1 pound)
750g	24 ounce (1 1/2 pounds)
1kg	32 ounce (2 pounds)
1.5kg	48 ounce (3 pounds)
2kg	64 ounce (4 pounds)

Cup conversions for metric & imperial

Ingredient	1 cup		1/2 cup		1/3 cup		1/4 cup
Breadcrumbs, dry	90g	2 3/4oz	45g	1 1/2oz	30g	1oz	25g	3/4oz
Butter	250g	8oz	125g	4oz	80g	2 1/2oz	60g	2oz
Cheese, shredded/grated	80g	2 1/2oz	40g	1oz	35g	1oz	25g	3/4oz
Choc bits	190g	6oz	95g	3oz	70g	2 1/4oz	55g	1 3/4oz
Coconut, desiccated	85g	2 3/4oz	45g	1 1/2oz	35g	1oz	20g	1/2oz
Flour, plain/self-raising	150g	4 3/4oz	75g	2 1/2oz	50g	1 1/2oz	40g	1 1/2oz
Rice, uncooked (long-grain/basmati/jasmine)	200g	6 1/2oz	100g	3oz	70g	2 1/4oz	50g	1 1/2oz
Sour cream	235g	7 1/2oz	125g	4oz	85g	2 1/2oz	65g	2oz
Sugar, brown – lightly packed	160g	5oz	80g	2 1/2oz	60g	2oz	45g	1 1/2oz
Sugar, brown – firmly packed	200g	6 1/2oz	100g	3oz	70g	2 1/4oz	55g	1 3/4oz
Sugar, caster	220g	7oz	115g	3 3/4oz	80g	2 1/2oz	60g	2oz
sugar, icing	150g	4 3/4oz	80g	2 1/2oz	60g	2oz	45g	1 1/2oz
sugar, white	225g	7oz	110g	3 1/2oz	80g	2 1/2oz	60g	2oz
sultanas	170g	5 1/2oz	90g	3oz	65g	2oz	45g	1 1/2oz
yoghurt	260g	8 1/4oz	130g	4oz	90g	3oz	70g	2 1/4oz

Common Ingredients by Weight

Ingredient (cup)	Metric	Imperial
Plain flour	150g	5 1/2 oz
Self-raising flour	150g	5 1/2 oz
Cornflour	150g	5 1/2 oz
Caster sugar	220g	7 3/4 oz

Brown sugar firmly packed	"220g	7 3/4 oz
White sugar	220g	7 3/4 oz
Icing sugar	160g	5 1/2 oz

Sour cream	235g	8 1/4 oz
Grated cheddar cheese	125g	4 1/2 oz
Grated Parmesan cheese	88g	3 oz
Butter	240g	8 1/2 oz
Yoghurt	280g	10oz
Choc chips	190g	6oz

Rice (cooked)	165g	5 3/4 oz
Rice (uncooked)	200g	7 oz
Couscous (cooked)	200g	7 oz

Ingredient (cup)	Metric	Imperial
Polenta (uncooked)	170g	6 oz
Rolled oats (cooked)	90 g	3 1/4 oz
Fresh breadcrumbs	50 g	1 1/4 oz
Packet breadcrumbs	100g	3 1/2 oz
Cup lentils (uncooked)	200g	7 oz
Dried beans	160g	5 1/2 oz
Pearl barley	220g	7 3/4 oz

Desiccated coconut	90 g	3 1/4 oz
Almond or hazelnut	125g	"4 1/2 oz
Chopped almonds	150g	5 1/4 oz
Chopped walnuts	120g	4 1/4 oz
Sultanas	160g	5 1/2 oz
Fresh herbs	40 g	1 1/2 oz

*Cup weight can change depending on type of herb and whether leaves are whole or chopped.

Length

Millimetres	Inches	(Approx)
3 mm	1/8	inch
6 mm	1/4	inch
8 mm	5/16	inch
10 mm	3/8	inch
13 mm	1/2	inch
15 mm	5/8	inch
19 mm	3/4	inch
22 mm	7/8	inch
30 mm	1	inch
50 mm	2	inches
100 mm	4	inches
250 mm	10	inches
500 mm	19 1/2	inches