Creamy hazelnut soup

Ah, what an unusual suggestion! A soup made of nuts? You must be nuts! Just had to try this out and I must say it works astonishingly well. At first I thought that it's just a catchy name and it won't taste much of what proposed to be a main ingredient... like a truffle soup which more often than not is just any old soup sprinkled with a few drops of truffle oil. This, however, lives up to its name if you do it right, the secret lies in the degree to which you roast the hazelnuts themselves. An unusual, creamy soup served as a starter, or, if that seems too overpowering an experience, use just a few tablespoons full in a shotglass at a cocktail party or as an amuse-bouche - you could even have it accompany your cheese course, again dished up in a shotglass or an espresso cup.

Creamy hazelnut soup
(serves 6 as a small starter)

80 g ground hazelnuts
2 shallots (thinly sliced)
1 medium leek, white only, ca. 4 cm (chopped)
1 parsnip (chopped)
35 g butter
1 tbsp flour
1 l vegetable stock
200 g double cream
20 g chopped hazelnuts

Roast the ground hazelnuts in a pan (no fat necessary as the nuts contain enough for them not to stick or burn) until they emit a strong sweet smell.
Add the butter and vegetables, and cook them for ca. 10 minutes or until soft. Dust with the flour and incorporate.
Add the stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Pour in the double cream.
Purée the soup in a blender and strain through a sieve. Return to the pan, season with salt and pepper and reduce to the desired consistency.
Sprinkle with roasted hazelnuts to serve.

Comments

[Jennifer]

Do you think pecans would work...? Or walnuts? I have an odd, rather annoying allergy to Hazelnuts...not life-threatening but I like to avoid them.

[johanna]

pecans definitely, their sweetness should work very well and if anything, it'll make the soup more tasty still. i would be careful with the walnuts as they can be very bitter sometimes... let me know how you get on with the pecans, though!

[Lauren]

My husband and I had this at our wedding. I have been looking for a recipe for YEARS. Thanks so much.

[Maggie]

I had this soup about twenty years ago at a Swiss Restaurant and have NEVER forgotten it. It was amazing. I am so excited to find a recipe for it.

[Louise]

I went to a beautiful resturant last week and had leek and hazelnut soup in a shallow bowl with a row of medium garlic croutons down the middle with grilled prawns balanced on top of the croutons! Unbelievable! I think this recipe will be just the trick to do it home. Yum, thankyou.

[Cookies]

any feedback from anyone who has made this soup, besides the lovely author? :)

[Janie]

You can blame 'Tangled' for this recipe's recent popularity. :D

[Kailyn]

It's true-- though, to be honest, I love hazelnuts to death and Tangled simply brought to my attention that such a wondrous dish could exist! <3

[Lori D.]

I have been looking for an Iced Hazelnut soup recipe since 1983! I had it at the Acapulco Princess back then and Loved it! Could this be it? Can you serve this chilled?

[Ruth]

yeah,Tangled. I don't think I would ever have thought of hazelnut soup else. I wondered if there even were such a thing.