Chestnut velouté: an elegant Christmas Eve starter, ready the day before
Smooth, creamy, with a woodland flavour: chestnut velouté is the perfect Christmas Eve starter. It's made with ready-cooked chestnuts, in a single pan, and it tastes even better when made the day before. On the day, you just reheat it and add a pretty garnish.
- 6 people, 15 min preparation
- One single pan, 30 min on induction
- Blended very finely for a very smooth velouté
- Prepare the day before : zero stress on the 24th
Appliance and settingInduction hob, then blender
Ingredients
A festive starter, with no work on the day
On Christmas Eve, the oven is already busy with the turkey or capon. A starter that is made on the hob, the day before, so it's a real gift. Chestnut velouté ticks every box: it's festive, everyone likes it, and it only needs reheating. With chestnuts already cooked, the preparation takes a quarter of an hour.
The steps
- Prepare the vegetables. Peel and finely slice the onion. Cut the white part of the leek into rounds and rinse it well. Peel the potato and cut it into small dice. Set aside 4 or 5 chestnuts for the garnish.
- Sweat. In a large saucepan, melt the butter on the hob at level 6 (out of 9). Add the onion and leek and let them soften for 5 minutes, stirring, without letting them colour.
- Add the rest. Add the chestnuts, potato and stock. Raise to level 8 (or booster) until boiling.
- Let it simmer. Reduce to level 4, cover halfway and cook for 25 minutes. The potato should mash easily.
- Blend. Off the heat, blend for a long time with a hand blender (2 to 3 minutes), or in a blender in two batches. The longer you blend, the smoother the velouté.
- Season. Add the cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Return to level 3 for 2 minutes, without boiling. If it's too thick, add a little stock.
- Prepare the topping. In a frying pan on level 7, fry the bacon cut into strips and the sliced mushrooms for 4 to 5 minutes. Serve the velouté piping hot, with the garnish, crumbled chestnuts and finely chopped chives.
Appliance settings
| Step | Appliance and mode | Setting | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melt onion and leek | Induction hob | Setting 6 | 5 min |
| Bring to the boil | Induction hob | Level 8 or booster | About 5 min |
| Simmer | Induction hob | Level 4, half covered | 25 min |
| Bacon and mushroom garnish | Induction hob, frying pan | Level 7 | 4 to 5 min |
| Reheat on the day | Induction hob | Level 4, stirring | 8 to 10 min |
| Keep warm during the drinks | Induction hob, keep-warm function | About 70 °C, or level 1 | Up to 1 hour |
The booster is handy for bringing a large pan to the boil quickly, but don't forget to turn it down afterwards: a thick velouté sticks to the bottom quickly.
Variations
- With pumpkin : replace the potato with 300 g of pumpkin, for an orange colour and a sweeter flavour. See also our pumpkin soup.
- With ceps : sauté 100 g of wild mushrooms with the onion, then blend them with the rest.
- Served in glasses : served in small glasses as an aperitif, with a drizzle of whipped cream and a pinch of cocoa.
- Vegetarian : with a vegetable stock, and a topping of toasted hazelnuts instead of the bacon.
Storage and advance preparation
The velouté keeps 3 days in the fridge, in a sealed container. So you can make it ahead on 23 December and reheat it on Christmas Eve. It thickens when cold: add a little stock or milk as you reheat it. The topping is made at the last minute, in 5 minutes.
For a 'restaurant' effect, serve the velouté in warm bowls: heat them in the oven at 60 °C for 10 minutes, or use the warming drawer if your oven has one. Then pour the velouté at the table, in front of your guests, over the topping already arranged at the bottom of the bowl. It always makes a nice impression.
Which appliance?
For a soup, you need a hob that heats up quickly to bring to the boil and that can simmer gently afterwards.
A 3-zone induction hob with booster
Siemens EU611BJB5E (iQ100, booster on all three zones, 17 settings), Bosch PUJ611BB5E (Series 4, 28 cm zone up to 3.7 kW on booster), Candy CIS633DTT1 (booster on each zone, power limit adjustable from 12 to 32 A).
From €449.99 to €499.99
Induction to start with
The Hisense HI6311BSCE, three zones and booster up to 3,600 W, to switch from ceramic to induction without breaking the bank.
299,99 €
Flexible and connected zone
The Samsung NZ63B6056GK has a FlexZone Plus zone for large pans, slider controls and Wi-Fi.
759,99 €
No fitted kitchen? The Beko FSE58301BC (50 cm) cooker combines a three-zone induction hob and a 60-litre multifunction oven, for €599.99.
Public prices checked on 15 October 2026: the product page is the reference, and Nimesclub members often get a reduced price. An induction hob needs a suitable connection: have it checked by an electrician.
Induction hobs in store
Induction Hob SIEMENS EU611BJB5E€499.00
Hob BOSCH PUJ611BB5E€499.00
SAMSUNG NZ63B6056GK Induction Hob€759.00
Induction hob CANDY CIS633DTT1€449.00
Hob HISENSE HI6311BSCE€212.00
Cooker BEKO FSE58301BC€599.00To plan the whole festive meal without stress, read our guide cooking the Christmas menu with one oven. And to set your hob correctly, see cooking with induction.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use fresh chestnuts?
Yes, but you first need to cook and peel them, which takes time: score them, boil them for 20 minutes, then remove both skins while still warm. Allow about 600 g of fresh chestnuts for 400 g peeled.
My velouté is too thick, what should I do?
Chestnuts thicken a lot as they cool. Simply add hot stock or milk when reheating, a little at a time, until you reach the right consistency.
Can I freeze it?
Yes, without the cream: add it when reheating. It keeps for 3 months in the freezer.
The right oven makes all the difference
Steam ovens, pyrolytic ovens, induction hobs: come and see them at our Temploux store, or ask our expert salesperson for advice.
Read next
RecipePumpkin or butternut squash soup: velvety, in 40 minutes on inductionOrange, sweet, velvety: squash soup is the queen of October evenings. On an induction hob, it's ready in forty minutes, and a tip in the oven gives it an incomparable roasted flavour. Here's the basic recipe, the right settings and our variations.45 min · Very easy · 6 servings
Cooking tipA Christmas menu with just one oven: an hour-by-hour plan to serve everything hotA turkey taking up the whole oven, a gratin waiting its turn, toasts to warm and a Yule log to keep cool: on Christmas Eve, the oven becomes the weak link. With a good plan, though, one oven is enough to serve everything hot, without spending the evening in the kitchen. Here is the method, from three days before right through to dessert.7 min read
RecipeStuffed Christmas turkey with chestnuts: the Christmas recipe, juicy thanks to the probeThe stuffed turkey is the queen of the Christmas Eve feast. It's daunting because people fear it will be dry or undercooked in the middle. With a simple chestnut stuffing, gentle cooking and a probe inserted into the thigh, it comes out of the oven golden and juicy. Here is the method, step by step.4 h · Medium · 10 pers.