Sweet Chestnuts

[Ganymede]

AND! You can keep chestnuts fresh by burying them in a tin or jar. I realise the above suggestion about freezing them is probably more modern, and works if you do not have a garden!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I went chestnut-foraging yesterday too! I used to be almost vegan and we are often meat-free now, but at Christmas I used to make a chestnut, mushroom and red wine casserole for my dinner. It was good because if you were going to have Christmas dins at a rellie's or friend's house you could just take it with you and it had its own gravy.

Basically it was onions, garlic, celery, mushrooms fried up... I used to flambe it with brandy... add a pint of red wine, some stock, a load of chestnuts... cook till done... thicken with cornflour and a bit of soy sauce to darken it... careful with the saltiness if the stock is salty... Yum! The turkey-eaters used to nick it.

I also used to use chestnut puree to make a hot sweet souffle - I know you don't eat dairy but if you eat eggs I'm sure you could rustle up a version. It included quite a bit of grated dark chocolate which was particularly nice.

that sounds delicious... although it would necessitate the purchase of some red wine (I know, I'm boring... I don't drink either - seen the effects of too much alcohol and living with alcoholics as I was growing up...) anyhow - yep I am veggie but dairy free... so eggs are in (loads of ducks eggs at the moment, my landlady's ducks are still laying) and dark chocolate chestnut soufflé sounds very interesting

 

[Chromatic]

I only like them raw. Cooking them makes them taste horrible!

This^
I only like them raw too, I knew there had to be others with such taste.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

wondering if I can do something with chestnuts and rose hips... there are plenty of them around here coming up to the right stage at the moment as well...

 

[Ganymede]

that sounds delicious... although it would necessitate the purchase of some red wine (I know, I'm boring... I don't drink either - seen the effects of too much alcohol and living with alcoholics as I was growing up...) anyhow - yep I am veggie but dairy free... so eggs are in (loads of ducks eggs at the moment, my landlady's ducks are still laying) and dark chocolate chestnut soufflé sounds very interesting

Not boring! - I have experimented with using other flavours than alcohol. Wine adds flavour but it adds a sharpness too - so when cooking without wine I tend to use tomatoes, or sometimes lemon juice if appropriate (though this can be very acidic and needs cooking down). Come to think of it, there were a few tomatoes in that chestnut casserole recipe which I forgot to mention, so perhaps that's the way to go with it. Apple juice is also really nice in some dishes - I bet a chestnut and apple casserole would be fab, and now's the season.

Re rosehips - just be careful of the hairy insides!

 

[Ganymede]

Also have used red wine or balsamic vinegar for the same effect in a casserole or soup - go careful and add little by little! I bet balsamic vinegar would work really well, it's nice and rich.

 

[rvw]

Paging @rvw - though now can't remember what exactly her mother's recipe is I remember it was gorgeous. You can also use the puree (slightly sweetened) on pancakes.

It was very simple - a shortcrust pastry base, filled with chestnut puree mixed in roughly equal quantities with good dark chocolate (melted), and left in the fridge to set. Sweeten the mixture if you must.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Re rosehips - just be careful of the hairy insides!

strangely I have never had an issue with their hairy insides but I have heard of this as being a problem for others, but I guess having eaten them all my life etc... I eat a lot of 'wild' foods and harvest a lot from the wild at this time of year, but have to confess to having never seen such a good year for sweet chestnuts or a tree which routinely produces such huge ones! I can only fit 3 or 4 shelled ones in my hand!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

It was very simple - a shortcrust pastry base, filled with chestnut puree mixed in roughly equal quantities with good dark chocolate (melted), and left in the fridge to set. Sweeten the mixture if you must.

now that is sounding very good... homemade pastry and I already have the good dark chocolate. I think we may have sorted out desert for tomorrow night (sadly don't have tome today)

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Dessert this evening. First time I have made sweet shortcrust pastry...
The tart needed a touch longer in the fridge really, so there may be a better version tomorrow (at least for those eating it!)

 

[Ganymede]

That looks FAB!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

That looks FAB!

thanks - still getting the hang of using Trex as a butter replacement. you need less of it than normal and it does not shrink like normal pastry does.... hence the generous crust! still was very nice - possibly needed a touch more chocolate but that only means I need more practice and I have a few bags of sweet chestnuts in the freezer to practice on and I may well find a dog to walk over the weekend and re-visit the trees... plenty more where they came from!