What Type of Chestnuts Do I Use for The Lentil And Chestnut Soup?

Our answer

Nigella's Lentil And Chestnut Soup (from HOW TO EAT) is a combination of red lentils and cooked chestnuts that makes a thick and slightly nutty soup, which is perfect for the cooler days in Autumn. You should be using plain chestnuts and not candied chestnuts (marrons glacés). Candied chestnuts are very sweet and are best eaten as an after-dinner treat or used for desserts, such as Nigella's Italian Christmas Pudding Cake.

It is much more convenient to make the soup using store-bought cooked and peeled chestnuts. When HOW TO EAT was first published, most cooked and peeled chestnuts were sold in cans. Now you can buy them canned, vacuum packed, in jars and sometimes frozen. Any of these forms would be fine for the soup. You could also cook and peel fresh chestnuts if you prefer.