Chestnut Recipes

I have seen the first of the small nets of Chestnuts at £4.50 a strip net.  I shall look around to see if I can find any cheaper.  Chestnuts are something I always have in at Christmas but I always weigh up the costs.  I want to have a go at several of the recipes below but the Ruth Mott Chocolate pudding is an absolute favourite.

As I mentioned recently I was doing some research for some future posts (this one included) and I ended up on You Tube checking out the videos from River Cottage Especially those that I had not come across before.  One in particular by John Wright of River Cottage fame entitled "Ginger Nut Fizz" which is a cocktail drink  that took my fancy.  

GINGER NUT FIZZ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krVY9ZBqykg&list=PLYaaknvJdmGvcdZcu2BHQzsY7PLizNVjT&index=1

Within that video John Wright mixes in a Chestnut Brandy at which my ears pricked up as it smacked of something different.  I like different.  I have since then been looking around for a Chestnut Brandy recipe and low and behold I have located it again by John Wright.  According to John this should be ready in a couple of weeks which is all well and good and the bonus is that you can eat the brandied chestnuts.  However thinking laterally this may be something for you to make for the store cupboard this year in readiness for next.  There is no time like the present and besides its good to get a head start on the coming year.

Here is the link: 

CHESTNUT BRANDY

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/oct/26/how-to-make-chestnut-liqueur

CHESTNUT LIQUEUR (ITALIAN RECIPE)

http://italianliqueurs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/chestnut-liqueur.html



HOW TO MAKE CHESTNUT PUREE/JAM/SPREAD

There are four links here for making your own puree all seem pretty similar:

https://www.thespruce.com/sweetened-chestnut-puree-recipe-p2-1136178

https://www.thespruce.com/sweetened-chestnut-puree-recipe-p2-1136178

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/members/krakra58s-home-made-sweet-chestnut-puree

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/618/sweet-chestnut-puree.aspx

It is the Chestnut puree that forms the basis for the Chestnut and Chocolate Terrine.


CHESTNUT AND CHOCOLATE TERRINE

I have always made this particular recipe from Merchant Gourmet tins of Chestnut puree.  This is the way I always used to buy this very useful puree and I have been looking for it to no avail.  One of these tins makes one of the terrines and I always used to make two so that had one in the freezer to bring out and one for the Christmas holidays.

It would seem that the packaging has been replaced and that the above way of buying the Chestnut puree has been replaced.  The new packaging only includes 200g of the Chestnut puree whereas the above version had about 450g in it.  So I have started stockpiling the Chestnut puree for use over the Christmas period. I have four bags so far and will get some more in due course. Afraid its a matter of snapping it up when you can otherwise you end up without and this pudding is too useful not to make.  I am also hopeful on obtaining some Chestnuts that I can turn into my own puree and/or jam for use throughout the year.

I love chestnuts and particularly in the form of puree  which can then be incorporated into a beautiful easy pudding which is a Chestnut and Chocolate Terrine which can be frozen and then cut off slice by slice from the freezer for pudding or it can be decorated as a centre piece for the Christmas table.  It is delish and I mean delish.  It is a Ruth Mott recipe (Ruth Mott played the cook in the Victorian Kitchen  and Kitchen Garden) and it has been a firm favourite here for many years.  As I have said it is simple to make, delish and can be stored in the freezer and slices taken off from frozen so a good cut and come again pudding/dessert.

At the time of typing this I could not locate my Rut Mott recipe book but I have found the recipe on another site which is more or less exactly the same.  Instead of Grand Marnier which is divine you can add a little rum instead. 

Here is the link.

http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes/puddings/01/rec0194.html

MONT BLANC

In its simplest form I know this pudding to be pureed chestnut which is topped off by whipped cream representing the mountain Mont Blanc whose peak is covered in snow.  However there are different versions of this recipe and the one below is a good one to make as well.

http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mont-blancs-with-chestnut-cream/

MARRONS GLACE

The video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjvu343RRcc

The Recipe

https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/marrons-glace


There are lots of links littered all over the Internet but I also found this link which has a lot of recipes off of it but also how to store things so that you get the best out of them.

https://www.thespruce.com/chestnut-recipes-selection-and-storage-1807750

So lots of things you never knew what to do with the humble Chestnut apart from eat them on a cold winters day and in the process warm your hands up.  I am certainly going to be trying some of them.

GOING BACK TO CHESTNUT PUDDINGS

There are some very different ones here which look very good too.

https://freefromfairy.com/2015/01/scattiness-chocolate-chestnut-pudding.html

and here

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/chocolate-chestnut-refrigerator-cake

I am sorry that there are so many links on this post.  I thought it would be easier to give the links and then you could decide yourself if you wanted to make any of them.  There is so much you can do with chestnuts and they are delicious.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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