French Soup: Chestnut Velouté with Scallops

Velouté with scallops served on a plate.

This French soup recipe combines creamed chestnuts with velouté, a typical French soup base made with white meat stock and thickened with cream. Although chestnuts were used in times past as a staple for the poor, nowadays many people around the world consider them a traditional Christmas flavor—whether roasted over the fire or in warm, delicious chestnut soups.

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500 grams (1.10 pounds) cooked and peeled chestnuts
2 shallots
50 centiliters (2¼ cups) chicken broth
10 centiliters (½ cup) liquid cream
30 grams (2¼ tablespoons) butter
8 scallops
2 sprigs parsley
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Directions

Peel and finely chop the shallots. Wash, dry, and chop the parsley.
Bring the chicken broth to a boil.
Place half of the butter in a pot to melt. Add the shallots, allowing them to brown for 3 minutes. Set 4 whole chestnuts aside for decoration, and chop a couple more for the same purpose. Add the rest of the chestnuts to the pot, coating them well with the butter and allowing them to brown (about 3 minutes). Add the hot chicken broth, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Use a blender or a food processor to cream the chestnut soup with the liquid cream, adding salt and pepper to taste. Blend until it is a smooth consistency.
Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet. Brown the scallops and the 4 chestnuts on each side for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the velouté into serving bowls, add the scallops, and sprinkle with the chopped chestnuts and parsley before serving.