Chestnut And Wild Rice Bisque Recipes

WARM CHESTNUT BISQUE

Steps:

• Place a Dutch oven over low heat. Add the butter and melt. Add the celery, onion and garlic and sweat until tender and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the stock, chestnuts, sherry, heavy cream, bay leaf and thyme, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the chestnuts are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
• In the meantime, whisk together the creme fraiche and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl until combined. Set aside for garnish.
• Remove the thyme sprig and bay leaf from the soup. Carefully transfer the soup to a blender and puree on high speed until very smooth (raise the speed of the blender gradually and leave the lid ajar to allow the steam to escape). Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, thinning with more heavy cream as desired and a splash of the sherry. Serve warm, garnished with the spiced creme fraiche.

CHESTNUT AND WILD RICE PILAF

Steps:

• Put the wild rice in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse it under cold running water, swishing the rice with your hands until the water runs clear. Transfer the rice to a medium bowl and add water to cover. Pour off any black bits or floating kernels, and then pour the rice back into the sieve to drain.
• Cook the rices separately: Combine the wild rice with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly, reduce the heat to low and steam until the rice is tender and curling into a C shape, 20 to 25 minutes.
• At the same time, combine the basmati rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 3/4 cups water in another small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly, reduce the heat to low, and steam until the rice is tender, 25 minutes.
• Combine the rices in a large bowl and cover tightly.
• Cook the vegetable base: Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are limp but still bright, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, and cook for 5 minutes.
• Pour the vegetables over the rice, scraping the pan for the juices, and stir to combine. Add the pistachios, chestnuts and parsley and mix thoroughly. Serve hot.

CHESTNUT AND WILD RICE BISQUE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a paring knife to score an X on each chestnut, place on a cookie tray and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until the chestnuts can be easily peeled. Remove the chestnuts from the oven, let cool and peel. Chop roughly and set aside.
• In a soup pot over medium heat, cook the bacon and the butter until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to very low, add the red onion, carrot and shallots, stir, partially cover the pan and allow the vegetables to cook very slowly, without browning, for 5 minutes. Add the chestnuts, stir well and cook an additional minute. Increase the heat to medium and add the brandy, scraping the pan well, and then add the white wine and vegetable or chicken broth and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Use a food processor or blender to puree the chestnut mixture and then return to low heat. Add the heavy cream and the wild rice. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

CHESTNUT, WILD RICE, AND PISTACHIO DRESSING

Steps:

• Put wild rice in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse it under cold running water, swishing rice with your hand until water runs clear. Transfer rice to a medium bowl and add water to cover. Pour off any black bits or floating kernels, and then pour rice back into sieve to drain.
• Cook rices separately: Combine wild rice with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low, and steam until rice is tender and curling into a C shape, 20-25 minutes.
• At the same time, combine basmati rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 13/4 cups water in another small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low, and steam until rice is tender, 25 minutes.
• Combine rices in a large bowl and cover.
• Cook the vegetable base: Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery and onion and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are limp but still bright, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
• Pour over rices, scraping the pan for the juices, and stir to combine. Add pistachios, chestnuts, and parsley and mix thoroughly.

WILD RICE, CHESTNUT & SQUASH STUFFING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip the onion, squash and chestnuts into a roasting tin with the oil, chopped sage and seasoning, then toss well with your hands. Roast for 20 mins or until the edges of the squash start to tinge brown. If your oven is full, you can simply fry the lot together in a large frying pan.
• Add the rice and stir to coat it, then tip the lot into a saucepan. Add the stock and stir well. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-25 mins or until the rice is tender and the stock absorbed. Add cheese, if using, and tip into a baking dish. You can now cover and chill the stuffing for up to a day. To finish, heat grill to high, then cook until the top is browned and crisp and the stuffing is hot through.