Ingredients:

  • 250 g small dried lentils
  • 180 g cooked and peeled chestnuts
  • 60 g white onion
  • 40 g celery
  • 40 g carrot
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1.2 L vegetable broth
  • 60 g extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt to taste
  • Black pepper to taste
  • Fennel flowers (optional) to taste

Preparation:

Finely chop the onion, celery, and carrot and sauté them in a saucepan with 30 g of extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic, rosemary, and bay leaf and let the flavors infuse for a few minutes.

Add the lentils and cover with the hot vegetable broth. Cook over medium heat until the lentils are tender. Halfway through cooking, add half of the chopped chestnuts so that they partially break down, giving the soup a creamier consistency.

Brown the remaining chestnuts in a pan with 10 g of extra virgin olive oil until lightly golden. Season the soup with salt and pepper and remove the rosemary and bay leaf.

Ladle the soup into shallow bowls, top with the browned chestnuts, fennel flowers, and the remaining extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top.