Tag: roasted chestnuts

Greens and nuts are good for you!

Greens and nuts are good for you! Not new, I know. I don’t pretend to be a dietician. Greens bring such a diversity of flavours and forms and nuts are quite filling and crunchy and versatile.  Anyway, you probably don’t need much convincing.

Poelee of italian pine mushrooms and greens

I did not go unfortunately in the Blue Mountains or Bellanglo State Forest to pick italian pine mushrooms this year.  If anyone lives that way, I would love to know if they are still in season and if the bushfires have affected the areas of growth!  You can find those mushrooms at small markets or some vegetable stores like Harris Farm in season sometimes.

They are great in risotto and in vegetable stir fries with butter and garlic. Whatever you do, don’t forget the butter and the garlic! Check HERE for the recipe I posted.

The key in sauteed vegetables is to not hesitate using garlic and butter and to add the vegetables according to their cooking time.  Using nuts to complement the dish adds a little complexity and crunchiness.  You can also add a little chili.

peas brocoli pine mushrooms
Poelee of italian pine mushrooms, peas, brocoli and chestnuts, here served with drilled pork chops

Chocolate and nuts toasted muesli

This is my second muesli recipe. The first was with dry fruits and nuts (HERE), this one is chocolate and nuts (HERE).

nuts and chocolate toasted muesli

Next week

Next week, I will post this recipe, my own brownies recipe. Yum! I made that recipe one day super quickly for some friends.  A good brownie for me needs to be soft and gooey in the middle, not too sweet and quite chocolatey.

chocolate and nuts soft brownies

Chestnuts

 

Chestnut season is here!  Most of you are likely to have memories of hot chestnuts booked on a cold days in the ashes of the fireplace.  It brings you back to your childhood, doesn’t it?

Parisians may argue, you can get a cone of roasted warm chestnuts in winter at street corners for a couple Euros.  I remember that from my student years, although the currency was not yet the Euro!

Today, most of us don’t have a fireplace, but you can still eat those chestnuts! Use a sharp knife to incise slightly through the skin if the chestnut (this is to prevent them having a little tantrum while cooking). Be careful not to cut yourself.  Place the chestnuts on a baking sheet, little tin and in a hot oven for about 10 minutes.  Insert a pointy knife in one of them to check for doneness. Peel the exterior and interior skins and enjoy!

chesnuts ready to cook

What else can you use chestnuts for? Here are a few ideas:

  • Add on the sides of a lamb roast or roasted chicken.  You will need to incise them as explained above, parboil them for a couple minutes and peel them.  The boiling will help removing the skins.  Make sure there is some juice in your roasting pan or they will become dry.
  • Make chestnut puree (water based or milk based).  As above incise, boil a couple minutes then remove the skins.  Then cook in either water or a mix of water and milk on low heat until crumbly and coked through.  Puree.  Add sugar if you wish (it depends what you want to do with the puree).  Keep in the fridge or freezer.   There are a number of recipes with chestnut puree, here is mine for a chestnut pudding. It is light and very delicate, beautiful!