Velouté de ChâtaignesChestnut Velouté

Boil and peel the chestnuts to obtain 350 g

• 1 Prepare about 650–750 g fresh chestnuts in their shells and cut a shallow cross into the flat side of each.
• 2 Put them in a pot with 1.5 L water to cover and 2 g salt, then place over high heat.
• 3 Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and boil for 15 minutes.
• 4 Keep the water over low heat. Lift out 3–4 chestnuts at a time with a slotted ladle, peel back the shell from the cut while hot, then scrape away the inner skin with the tip of a knife.
• 5 Put the peeled chestnuts in a bowl and weigh out 350 g. Do not add any extra chestnuts to this recipe.

Slice the vegetables and prepare the herbs and garnishes

• 1 Halve 2 shallots lengthwise and slice thinly along the fibers.
• 2 Halve the white part of 1 Japanese long onion lengthwise, rinse soil from between its layers under running water, then slice across 2 mm thick.
• 3 Remove the strings from 1 celery stalk with a peeler and slice 2 mm thick.
• 4 Stack 2 thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf, then tie with kitchen string to make a bouquet garni, a bundle of herbs.
• 5 Cut 60 g smoked pork belly into lardons, batons 7 mm thick and 3 cm long.
• 6 Coarsely chop 15 g hazelnuts with a knife and finely slice 4 chive stalks; keep them on separate small plates.

Sweat the vegetables without browning and deglaze with white port

• 1 Melt 20 g unsalted butter in a heavy pot over medium-low heat.
• 2 When the foaming subsides, add the shallots, long onion and celery together and turn with a wooden spoon to coat in butter.
• 3 Cover with a drop lid or a pot lid left slightly ajar. Sweat over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes: gently steam and sauté without coloring.
• 4 Remove the lid, pour in 30 ml white port and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to deglaze, dissolving the flavorful deposits in the liquid.
• 5 Boil over medium heat for 2 minutes to drive off the sharp smell of alcohol.

Simmer the chestnuts in stock and milk until they crumble

• 1 Add 350 g peeled chestnuts to the pot and turn with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute to coat in the butter and vegetables.
• 2 Pour in 600 ml cold chicken stock and submerge the bouquet garni.
• 3 Bring to a boil over high heat, skim with a ladle, then reduce to low heat, cover with the lid ajar and simmer for 25 minutes.
• 4 Add 100 ml milk and heat for 5 minutes over low heat at 80–85°C, with the surface barely moving.
• 5 Lift out the bouquet garni with tongs and discard.

Blend and strain through a chinois for a velvety texture

• 1 Remove the pot from the heat. Start an immersion blender with its head held against the bottom and blend for 2–3 minutes until smooth throughout.
• 2 Set a chinois, a fine conical strainer, over another pot and ladle in the blended soup in 3 batches.
• 3 Move the back of the ladle around the inside of the chinois, pressing the liquid through into the pot while leaving the fibers behind.
• 4 Scrape the purée from the outside of the chinois into the pot with a rubber spatula; discard the remaining fibers.

Finish with cream, white pepper and nutmeg

• 1 Meanwhile(While the velouté warms.) Fill 2 soup plates with hot water to warm them.
• 2 Place the strained soup over low heat and add 80 ml cream in 3 additions, whisking thoroughly after each to make a liaison, a finish using cream or egg yolk to give a soup body and sheen.
• 3 Warm for 2–3 minutes without boiling, around 85°C, whisking constantly from the bottom.
• 4 Add 3 g salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper, grate in 1/4 tsp nutmeg and whisk for 30 seconds.
• 5 Taste to check the balance of saltiness and sweetness.

Brown the bacon and hazelnuts

• 1 Meanwhile(While the lardons cook.) Keep the velouté over low heat at around 70°C, whisking every 30 seconds.
• 2 Heat a frying pan over medium heat without oil and arrange the lardons without overlapping.
• 3 Cook for 3–4 minutes, turning 2 times, until the fat renders and all sides are golden; transfer to kitchen paper.
• 4 Leave the fat in the pan, reduce to low heat, add 15 g chopped hazelnuts and cook for 1–2 minutes, shaking constantly until fragrant; transfer to a separate small plate.

Serve in warm plates with contrasting smoky and rich garnishes

• 1 Warm 4 soup plates with hot water, empty and dry them.
• 2 Divide the velouté equally among the plates, rotating each gently to level the depth.
• 3 Divide the reserved 20 ml cream among the plates, spooning it in a swirl from the center outward.
• 4 Scatter 1/4 of the lardons and hazelnuts in the center of each plate.
• 5 Sprinkle with the sliced chives and dot each surface with 1/2 tsp hazelnut oil, adding it a few drops at a time.
• 6 Bring to the table and serve while steaming.