Pheasant Chestnut Soup

Ingredients

• 400 g chestnuts
• 2 shallots
• 1 Garlic clove
• 200 g celeriac
• 1 parsley root
• 1 tbsp butter
• 700 ml poultry stock
• 2 pheasant breast fillets
• 40 ml cognac
• 4 Tbsp crème double
• 100 ml heavy cream (at least 30% fat)
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• Nutmeg (freshly grated)
• 3 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 220 °C with upper and lower heat. Score the chestnuts crosswise and roast in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the shells crack open and the nuts are cooked. Remove, let cool, then peel off the shells.

2. 2.

   Peel and finely dice the shallots, garlic, celeriac, and parsley root. Sauté them in hot butter until golden brown. Add the chestnuts, stir briefly, then deglaze with the stock.

3. 3.

   Add the pheasant fillets to the pot and let everything simmer gently for 30 minutes.

4. 4.

   Remove the fillets from the soup and puree the soup finely. Stir in the crème double, cognac, and heavy cream, then bring to a boil. If the soup is too thick, add more stock.

5. 5.

   Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Dice the meat into tiny cubes with a sharp knife.

6. 6.

   Divide the soup among bowls, spoon 2–3 tbsp of meat cubes into each, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.