At this time of year, I seem to be especially drawn to the comforting, hearty cooking of the ever-present (here, anyway) Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. When I was at the grocery store last night, I saw some Italian chestnuts and remembered a recipe in his book The River Cottage Year (now available, you'll notice, from the U.S. Amazon site) that I'd made with my mother last Christmas. This is my version of it.

KALE AND CHESTNUT SOUP
14 oz. chestnuts
4 1/2 c. stock (poultry, beef, vegetable, game, or a combination)
a smallish bunch of fresh kale, shredded coarsely
a couple handfuls of diced cooked ham*
1 tsp. olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut a slit in each chestnut. Plunge them all into boiling water and cook 5 minutes. Drain and cool.
Peel off the shells, including the thin, inner brown skin. This is a little time-consuming and tricky, so do it when you're not in a hurry or you'll be very frustrated.
Simmer the peeled chestnuts in the stock until tender. Partially mash them so that some of them thicken the broth and the remaining chestnuts are broken up a bit. Add the kale, ham, and oil. Simmer until the kale is tender, but not mushy. Season to taste.

*Alternately, HFW says you can make the recipe with bacon, in which case you use the oil to fry it in before adding it to the soup. HFW seems to be a great fan of bacon for bacon's sake, and this fact only increases his popularity chez nous.