Chestnut Soup & A Cozy Cooking Class in the Azores
Cooking class with the local chef Paula, at the Azores Culinary Experience 2024
Furnas Lake Villa and Restaurant will be our home base for the Azores Culinary Experience in 2025. It is the essence of the forest and lake surrounding the estate.
The menus are perfectly curated just for us, with wines and garden tours. The hazelnuts are picked from the trees right outside our villas. The flowers are ridiculously abundant and they fill our tables and rooms. Hang out at the pool, around a fire pit or in a cozy corner in front of a fireplace.
Our hosts are Manuel and Helena, whose gardens and homes are part of this estate, which has been in their family for 300 years. We will have many meals together to hear their stories as they become our friends.
Hazelnut & chestnut soup was one of the recipes we brought from our last year’s experience and one of the cooking classes with our chef Paula. Find out more about it below.
Ingredients:
7 cups Chestnuts
1 onion
1 yam
1 sweet potato
1 fennel bulb
4 cloves of peeled garlic
Directions
Place the chestnuts in boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes.
Drain the water and allow the chestnuts to cool.
When cool, remove the skin and by cutting a cross into eachone and peeling the skin back.
Spread the chestnuts out on a sheet pan and roast in a 350degree oven for 30-40 minutes until lightly brown.
All the vegetables can be cooked together on a sheet pan.
They should be single layer sothat they roast rather than steam.
Cut the sweet potatoes into 4” chunks and spread out ona sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and roast in a 350 oven for about 35 minutes untilsoft.
Cut the yams into 4” chunks and spread out on a sheet pan.
Drizzle with olive oil and saltand roast in a 350 oven for about 35 minutes until soft.
Remove the fronds of the fennel, save a few for garnishing soups and save them for yournext vegetable stock.Cut the fennel bulb in half and remove the core.
Slice the fennel into 4” chunks and spreadout on a sheet pan.
Drizzle with olive oil and salt and roast in a 350 oven for about 35 minutes until soft.
Cut the onion in quarters, spread out on a sheet pan with the garlic and drizzle with olive oiland roast in the oven until soft.
Place all the roasted vegetables with the chestnuts in a pot and cover with water. Simmer ina post for about 40 minutes.
As soon as the chestnuts are soft.
Turn off the heat and blendwith an immersion blender or a blender until smooth.
Add thyme and a pinch of rosemaryand salt to taste.
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil in swirls over the soup and garnish with fallen and thyme leaves.
Azores Culinary Experience takes place again this September 20-27th 2025!
Sign up for the Culinary and Cultural Retreat of the AZORES! Grab the Early registration rate now!