Ingredients

• 400 g. chestnuts
• 2 lg shallots, minced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 c. dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed
• 4 c. chicken broth
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Place the dried porcinis in hot water to steep. In a 2-qt sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery, and shallot. Cook vegetables until soft. Coarsely chop the chestnuts and add them to the pan. Add the porcini and the steeping liquid (being careful not to add any dirt at the bottom of the bowl).

Add broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer until all ingredients are fork-tender, 15–25 minutes. Remove from heat and homogenize with an immersion blender. Return to low heat, add cream, and season to taste.

D’Artagnan

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cups sliced celery
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 1 can whole chestnuts, drained and chopped (or something over a pound of raw chestnuts, boiled and then peeled)
• 4 cups cooked wild rice (about 1.5 cups dry wild rice, plus water or beef or chicken broth according to directions)
• 1 tsp crumbled dried sage
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried marjoram

Preparation

If you’re doing the chestnuts fresh, do them first–give yourself between 30 minutes and an hour to get them ready. Probably an hour. Boil the chestnuts for 5-10 minutes, then let them drain and cool, and peel (making sure to remove the skins). [CP: Doing the chestnuts yourself fresh makes for a much better flavor – the chestnuts are firmer and tastier. But it takes forever, and is really annoying work.]

Cook wild rice according to the package directions.

Fry bacon in a skillet until browned.

Pour off some of the grease if you wish, and add the onion, celery, and parsley, cooking for about 5 minutes, or until the onion and celery is soft.

Stir in chestnuts, rice, and herbs, and season to taste with salt and/or pepper.

Yankee Magazine, via RoastGoose.com, via The Taste Place