Chestnuts

[pjs]

My local supermarket has Italian chestnuts for Thanksgiving. My only experience with them is buying them roasted--sold in a paper bag by street vendors in NYC. Gimme some ideas for them. I haven't a clue.

PJ

[Pan]

PJ, I searched the Cooking board for "chestnuts" and came up with three pages of results. Some of the results are for "water chestnuts" or "chestnut flour," but some are for chestnuts.

[prasantrin]

Make marron glace or mont blanc?

[foodie52]

Typically, people want them for stuffing in their holiday turkeys. Lots of folks are disappointed when they actually taste them because they are buying them canned or in a jar. They are dry and pretty tasteless...and expensive.

Of course, you can roast the fresh ones just for fun, but that can be dangerous unless you know about scoring them first!!

[OPJK]

In the New York Times magazine today, Jonathan Reynolds has an article showing how to make an Italian chestnut soup.

NYTimes - Italian Thanksgiving

[Pan]

I do have a slightly more specific suggestion than looking through those three pages of search results. There are good recipes for Chicken and Chestnuts in various styles. As I recall, there's a decent Chinese recipe in Lilah Kan's book and a delicious stewy one from Bulgaria. I thought the latter was in the Round the World Cookbook, but I don't see it in my copy. The only thing I can tell you about it from my memory of years ago when my mother made it is that it's tomato-sauce based.

Re: foodie52's remark: My father has had so much disappointment with opening chestnuts only to find out that 1/3 of them are moldy that he's resorted to the jarred ones.

[Verjuice]

Added to vegetable dishes like sauteed leeks or roasted brussels sprouts. Make sure to leave them intact and don't bother them too much once they've been added to the pan or you'll end up with, as Nigella Lawson calls it, "mealy rubble". Unfortunately, chestnuts are best left whole or mashed into paste; anything in between is kind of unpleasant. They crumble like wet sand but add a mellow earthiness to simple, rustic vegetables and stuffings. I'm really not a fan of any sweets prepared with chestnuts, except for the Italian chestnut pudding in Monte Bianco- delicious!

I also recommend adding them to lentil soup (red lentils are best) and pureeing.

[DRColby]

Trader Joe's is selling frozen Italian chestnuts that are peeled for about $4 a box. Can't coment on quality because I haven't used them yet.

My experience whenever buying chestnuts in the shell is that I throw about half away because they are rotten.

I bought 2 boxes of them for a dressing for Thanksgiving. Probablymore than enough, so maybe I'll try to emulated the Mont Blanc desert we enjoyed on a sunny day in Paris.

dave

[Carolyn Tillie]

I was trying to find my initial thread on chestnuts (but am not liking the search functions). I've got pounds of fresh chestnuts from a 100-year-old tree. For the season, I will be experimenting with making a chocolate/chestnut terrine as well as chestnut soup with cubes of foie gras and also caramelized chestnuts with roasted root vegetables.

[foodie52]

Mmmm...Carolyn : all that sounds marvellous! We get pecans down here, but no chestnuts...

My favorite chestnut experience was roasting them in the oven...then taking them out piping hot. One of the dropped to the floor...there was a noise like gunshot...and chestnut bits ALL over the kitchen! That nut literally exploded!

Fun for the kids....

[Suzanne F]

At Dufour Pastry Kitchens, we made a (mostly) savory Chestnut Strudel: with onions, celery, thyme, etc. that was great as an appetizer or as an unusual side/starch.

At home, I have used pureed chestnuts in place of mashed potatoes to make gnocchi. A bit drier and heavier, but very, very tasty.

[Bond Girl]

A roasted chestnut soup wiith some fried Jerusalem artichoke chips and truffle butter was all the rage last year. I've also made a chestnut puree once and paired them with roasted parsnips, beets and butternut squash, and use it as a base for some spicy shrimps.

[ledervin]

Love Chestnuts!

Puree with some water and a little sugar and mix with Sour cream for a tasty dessert treat.

accompany with any fowl baking!

Eat as a sid itself

Puree, then add red wine, reduce, s & p , a little thyme and your on your way to a tastee sauce!

[Squeat Mungry]

As Verjuice noted, they are the perfect accompaniment to brussels sprouts. While parboiling the sprouts, I render some bacon or pancetta, then gently saute the sprouts with chestnuts in the fat and toss back in the bacon/pancetta; finish with a dash of balsamic vinegar and lots of freshly ground black pepper. A big hit every time.

Squeat

[Alex]

As Verjuice noted, they are the perfect accompaniment to brussels sprouts. While parboiling the sprouts, I render some bacon or pancetta, then gently saute the sprouts with chestnuts in the fat and toss back in the bacon/pancetta; finish with a dash of balsamic vinegar and lots of freshly ground black pepper. A big hit every time.

Squeat

I'll second that recipe.

There was a recipe in my local paper last month for a chocolate-chestnut cake. Pretty tasty. I'll check re copyright and see if I can post it.

We're fortunate to have a local chestnut farmer. I picked up 5# last month, which should last into the new year (refrigerated, of course). Only a few moldy ones so far.

[mags]

I'd vote for roasting'em on an open fire while, you know, Jack Frost nips at your nose.

[victornet]

I just saw bottled chestnuts prominently placed at Citarella tonight, so I bought them and am going to make Chestnut Fennel soup for Sunday. I got the recipe at a cooking class (De Gustibus) with Terrence Brennan a couple of years ago, and it's a great winter soup. A bit of orange juice gives an acidic element to cut the richness of the chestnuts.

[pjs]

Thanks for all the replies. Squeat's treatment with sprouts does indeed sound promising and delicious. I will be trying it tomorrow.

According to Jane Garmey in her book "Great British Cooking" sprouts and chestnuts is a traditional side dish with the Christmas bird.

PJ

[Squeat Mungry]

Thanks for all the replies. Squeat's treatment with sprouts does indeed sound promising and delicious. I will be trying it tomorrow.

According to Jane Garmey in her book "Great British Cooking" sprouts and chestnuts is a traditional side dish with the Christmas bird.

PJ

Wow. I feel honored and flattered to have this simple recipe so well-received. I do hope you prepare it, and I am sure it will be a success, because it is so simple, yet so impressive. (It is seriously good, folks!)

I do need to acknowledge, however, my dear friend G., who walked me through it over the phone the first time I made it, when I had very limited kitchen skills or knowledge. She has now turned her endeavours towards interior design, at which she excels, but at that time was still serious about a food career, and I was in awe and extremely envious of her time at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, which for all I know may have been the original source for this simple preparation.

It is surefire, however, and has converted many former brussels sprouts haters/fearers.

Wishing everyone the delicious warmth of the holiday,

A Truly Thankful Squeat

[TurtleMeng]

I don't even know how many people like or regularly use it. Saw it @ some upscale markets and the price gave me hiccups. But I would like to try it. First of all, it's mentioned in RLB's Cake Bible. Second, I want to try making Mont Blanc. It seems rare to see that dessert here. Is it more common in France? What was I doing when I was in France instead of visiting the pastry shops?

(reading "Memoir of a Geisha" in the hotel room)

Edited February 15, 2005 by TurtleMeng (log)

[zeitoun]

Although the name is French, Mont Blanc is not a very common dessert in France. In all my visits at local "patisseries" in Paris, I have personaly never seen it. It is very common in Japan though and is sold there in French pastry shops. My first encounter with it was in a Japanese pastry shop here in NY.

As for chestnuts, it is somewhat fairly easy to come by here in NY either fresh or in jars. Most of the ones i've seen are shipped from Italy. The season for chestnuts is ending, you'll have a hard time finding them now.

[TurtleMeng]

Although the name is French, Mont Blanc is not a very common dessert in France.  In all my visits at local "patisseries" in Paris, I have personaly never seen it.  It is very common in Japan though and is sold there in French pastry shops.  My first encounter with it was in a Japanese pastry shop here in NY.

As for chestnuts, it is somewhat fairly easy to come by here in NY either fresh or in jars. Most of the ones i've seen are shipped from Italy. The season for chestnuts is ending, you'll have a hard time finding them now.

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I guess all the recipes I've seen call for the sweet stuff in a jar. I don't know how fresh ones would be used. Will try some online sources.

[zeitoun]

You should be able to find whole jarred chestnuts that are not sweetened. You should avoid the already pureed or sweetened varieties. This might be more appropriate for what you intend to do. That is what I use for soups, purees etc... when i get really lazy. As for fresh chesnuts, besides the fact that they are probably hard to come by at this time of the year, you wouldn't want to spend hours roasting, peeling and poaching those little guys. Whole unsweatened chestnuts in a jar will work just fine.

[ludja]

Chestnut creme and puree (sweetened and unsweetened) can be great for certain desserts--as a filling between or on top of cakes or tarts.

For Mont Blanc (or Kastanienreis in German) I've only made this (and seen recipes) using fresh chestnuts. It's just basicaly pureed cooked chestnuts sweetened with sugar and flavored with vanilla and rum; then topped with whipped cream. I'm not sure if this would work well with dried chestnuts in a jar or can. Personally, if I was considering this, I'd want to hear from someone that it comes out alright using dried chestnuts b/4 I invested the time or $... It is a pain to peel fresh chestnuts and the season is ending, ended?... I'd wait for fresh chestnuts next fall. (I go thru the effort to make this dessert every few years b/c I do really love it).

If you have a yen for chestnut desserts this time of year it might be better to try another type of dessert w/the canned puree.

Chestnut desserts (including 'Mont Blanc') are popular in Austria and in N. Italy so I would look around for recipes w/that in mind. Lots of desserts combine chestnuts w/chocolate which is also very nice.

Here are a few threads on egullet to check out.

Edited February 16, 2005 by ludja (log)

[zeitoun]

Personally, if I was considering this, I'd want to hear from someone that it comes out alright using dried chestnuts b/4 I invested the time or $...  It is a pain to peel fresh chestnuts and the season is ending, ended?... I'd wait for fresh chestnuts next fall. 

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I thought for a long time that mont blanc would only work with fresh chestnuts. Two weeks ago, my wife and I (craving for mont blanc) went on a fruitless hunt for fresh chestnuts, we came up with the crazy idea of attempting the recipe with chesnuts in a jar. To our surprise, it came out quite alright..