When brainstorming Holiday 2012 we found Chestnut, a beautiful cinnamon-brown color. And of course the name had us all singing the song "chestnut's roasting on an open fire..." So we thought it would be fun to actually roast some chestnuts. After looking at recipes I decided to take on the task, because it seemed pretty easy. It turned out to be a little more challenging than I anticipated...
Here is the "simple" recipe:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
Wipe the chestnuts off with a damp towel and set them on a towel or cutting board flat side down. As you can see a few of my chestnuts were flat on both sides. I ended up throwing them out.
With a small, sharp knife cut an X in each chestnut. This was tricky, if you don't cut deep enough the chestnuts could explode in the oven (which happened with a few of mine). So, the best way to cut them is to poke a hole in the middle, then add the cuts from there. And trust me, you want to make sure they are deep enough, exploded chestnuts make a mess!
Place the chestnuts in a baking pan. Then place them in the oven for 20-30 minutes checking them at 20 minutes and gauging from there. When cooked the shells will be split open, and the chestnut will be golden brown.
Once the chestnuts are finished you need to peel off the shell. This can be hard, because they need to be a little warm. Let them cool just enough so that you can touch them and start peeling. Be careful!
The final result are rich, sweet, and tender chestnuts!
Roasting chestnuts was definitely an experience, but it was fun and got me in the Holiday spirit! They actually did end up tasting pretty darn good. I must admit that I would rather own a Chestnut Seatbeltbag, then roast my own chestnuts!
xoxo,
Melanie
Have you ever attempted roasting Chestnuts?