1. Melt half butter and sauté the chestnuts until heated through and take out of pan.

2. Melt rest of butter and add vegetables and cook slowly until tender.

3. Add chestnuts, stock and wine bring to boil add seasonings, nutmeg and parsley.

4. Simmer for 10 minutes and puree.

5. Serve with a sprinkling of cayenne and dollop of sour cream.

Make a day in advance for the flavours to develop, I add some cayenne while cooking but be careful as you don’t want it to overtake the delicate flavour. Also I added some chestnut puree to the soup,