Recipe: Mushroom, chestnut and Dijon mustard soup

Ingredients:

250g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
200g chestnuts (cooked and chopped)
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1 small turnip, peeled and diced (Alternatively use an extra shallot)
1 clove garlic, crushed,
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
3 heaped teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 vegetable stock cube/ 1 tsp marmite
Sunflower oil for frying
Salt, pepper

1. In a large saucepan, gently fry the shallot and turnip in some sunflower oil for 5 -10 minutes. In a separate frying pan, fry the mushrooms and chestnuts in sunflower oil until the mushrooms have browned. Reserve ¼ of the mix and add the rest to the saucepan with the shallot and turnip. To this add the garlic and parsley and cook for a further 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the mustard and add the stock. Cover with a good amount of boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the turnip is soft. Puree in a food processor/ with a hand mixer. Stir through the reserved mushrooms and chestnuts and serve.

This would be very nice served with some toasts topped with bleu d’auvergne (cheese of the month!) and some red wine.

Tip: make sure the mushrooms are of good quality as they have more flavour. Button mushrooms for example wouldn't be suitable for this recipe.