A Christmas staple back home in Malta if what we call Imbuljuta tal- Qastan which translates somewhat to Sweet Chestnut Soup. It's basically a thick hot chocolate, flavoured with lovely Christmas spices, some tangerine, with chestnuts cooked right into it. I personally used pre-cooked and packaged chestnuts, however, if you're using dried chestnuts (which most Maltese people do), you'd need to soak them overnight and cook them for longer, until they're nice and soft.
The below recipe will serve 3 people.
Ingredients
180gr cooked chestnuts
Water (to cover)
3/4tspn cinnamon
1 1/2tspn nutmeg 1/2 a tangerine peel
3tbsp cocoa powder
3tbsp granulated sugar
50gr dark chocolate
Double cream (optional)
Method
1. In a small saucepan over medium-high add the chestnuts and cover with water. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, and add in the tangerine peel. If you're not a fan of the flavour of tangerine, you can add in less of the peel, or remove earlier on in the process.
2. Once the chestnuts come to a boil, add in the cocoa powder and granulated sugar. Mix to combine. At this point, I personally removed the tangerine peel.
3. Once the cocoa powder and sugar have fully dissolved, take the mixture off the heat. Add in the dark chocolate and mix in until fully melted down.
4. Pour a few tablespoons of double cream at the bottom of your glasses. Split the chestnut soup evenly in three glasses and serve piping hot.
Recreating this recipe? Tag me on instagram @juliawgr!
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