Chestnut has a unique aroma and sweet taste. The texture is similar to a nut, but not as fat and high-calorie. You can eat it just like that, make soups out of it (I especially like it in cream soups), desserts (very tasty if there is chocolate or maple syrup in the dish), add it to stews/pilafs/risotto/pasta/casseroles/cutlets/salads. Chestnut flour gives a very unusual taste. In General, an interesting and versatile product.
Immediately important: do not confuse plz horse decorative chestnut and edible!!! In Moscow, you can buy raw edible chestnuts at markets, and there are also some in stores, but more often they are canned.
How to do:
1. Chestnuts iterate, throw too soft (they are most likely spoiled) and with the damage, my (if I have time, I leave them in water for about 30 minutes to peel softened), water is drained, dry fruits to to cut the rind of the they didn’t nothing happened.
2. Cut the skin with a sharp knife on the convex side of the cross or line, as I have in the photo. It is better to cut on the convex side, because then it is easier to clean. You can generally make a line around the entire circumference, then the peel can be opened like a matryoshka doll))) Ideally, do this with a special gadget (for example, thisone), but you can just use a sharp knife. With a knife, it is more convenient to make an incision on the Board, and not on the weight, so as not to get hurt.
The most important thing is to make sure that you cut the skin exactly, but the chestnut itself is not. If the skin is badly cut, the chestnut may explode during heat treatment, and if the flesh itself is strongly cut, it will also fall apart and dry up during cooking.
3. fill the processed chestnuts with water for 15 minutes, or blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes. This step is necessary in order to make the peel later easier to move away, and the kernels themselves become juicier. I recommend salting the water to taste, don’t be afraid to overdo it with salt;)
4. while the chestnuts are soaking, preheat the oven to 180, or a frying pan. It is better to use a thick-bottomed frying pan with a lid of such diameter that the chestnuts are placed on it in 1 layer. It’s not terrible if a few things are in 2 layers, in the process of stirring, all the chestnuts will still be fried.
Spread the chestnuts on the pan with the flat side, so that the maximum amount of the fruit surface is immediately warmed, and the peel opens. Then fry, periodically shaking the pan, over medium heat for 25-40 minutes (the time depends on the size of the chestnuts) until nice brown scorch marks. Check readiness with a toothpick or sharp knife. If it’s easy to enter, it’s done.
For baking, you need either a form with a lid, or a baking sheet on top tightly cover with foil so that the chestnuts do not dry out. Bake for 180C for 40 minutes or until tender.
5. Put hot chestnuts in a container with a lid, or cover with a towel for about 10 minutes. During this time, they will become more saturated taste and slightly cool down, and they can be eaten without burning. The most important thing is to eat warm. After cooling, they become dry and completely not as tasty as warm ones.
It was a basic recipe. You can also add large sea salt + rosemary, cinnamon + maple syrup to the chestnuts, or whatever you fancy. I like to fry them in a frying pan and add spices near the end so that nothing burns.
If you are frying chestnuts for a particular dish, the most important thing is to clean them while they are warm, because as they cool down, the skin will again become tight to them.