Going 'NUTS'

When the leaves are still turning from green to every hue of red, gold and brown you know that the summer is really over. One of the bounties of autumn that I enjoy the most is the harvesting of nuts and here at Fonte de Baixo we have gone truely nuts with a bumper hravest of walnuts and chestnuts.

Some of the chestnuts we are drying to store over the winter and the others are roasted on the rocket stove, boiled and used as a vegeatble, made into cakes or one of our favourites is the traditional Portugues soup - Sopa de castanhas e feijoa branco - chestnut and white bean soup. The recipe is easy and can be modified to add extra flavours by adding some squash or pumpkin.

• 100g dried haricot beans soaked overnight in cold water and then drained
• 90g peeled chestnuts (we roast our first as it is easier to get the inner skin off)
• 1 bay leaf
• 50ml olive oil
• 1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 litre of good vegetable stock

1. Place the oilve oil in a deep pan and gently fry the onions and bay leaf. Once the onions have softened then add the garlic.
2. Now add the beans and chestnuts and pour in the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer of about an hour or until the beans are soft.
3. Remove the bay leaf and blend, season to taste and serve with fresh buttered bread - Yum!