Autumn and winter are the peak chestnut seasons in France and Europe. I was there last September with my travelling friend Rosemarie and one of our day trips was to Fontainebleau, the home of Empress Josephine and Napoleon. I particularly wanted to see Josephine’s rose garden, which I have read about over the years, but unexpectedly and pleasantly, the 17th-century Château de Malmaison itself turned out to be the highlight for us, as well as the chestnuts!
As we walked through Fontainebleau, along the beautiful chestnut tree-lined streets on our way to visit Empress Josephine’s Château de Malmaison, I collected these wonderful chestnuts, lying all over the nature strips. As their spiky, outer shells, called the ‘burr’ or ‘cupole’ were still a little green, they were immature and not yet quite ripe. When their outer shells turn yellowish brown, this indicates they are ripening and ready to eat. As you can see in my photos, a few of them have started to turn ripe yellowish-brownish. We could not roast them in our farm cottage, nor bring them home, so I photographed them as I found them, just fallen from the trees.
Note, it is the outer green spikey ‘burrs’ that contain the nuts, and the nuts are encased in a hard, shiny, brown outer hull or husk and it is this which is hard to peel!
When you buy them at the fruiterer, you buy them as the brown nuts without the outer green spikey burrs.
A tray of freshly roasted chestnuts makes a wonderful snack, and they are also an excellent accompaniment to roasted meats, folded into the stuffing mixture, and chopped up and added to crumble toppings. They add a depth of flavour to both sweet and savoury dishes.
Chestnuts are at their peak in Autumn and Winter, and so in the northern hemisphere, they are perfect for their festive season.
For maximum flavour, look for the largest chestnuts you can find and choose those that are shiny brown and feel heavy for their size.
How to prepare and cook your chestnuts
Chestnuts are not so much tough to crack, as tricky to peel. Their shells are much softer and more malleable than other tree nuts, but that means any “cracking” doesn’t work well.
Before using and eating the chestnut, it is necessary to cook them first, before removing the shell and skin.
Some people recommend soaking chestnuts before roasting them, which allows the ‘meat’ inside to steam.
Allow them to cool a little, just enough to handle, but not too much. Cold chestnuts are impossible to peel. The outer shell cracks open a little during cooking; remove this outer shell and then the inner stubborn skin; if the chestnuts get cold, this skin will re-cling to the nut as it cools, making it impossible to peel
To roast chestnuts – oven-roasting chestnuts is the best way to bring out the fullest flavour; you can eat them straight away or chop them into your stuffing mix.
Heat oven to 200℃.
Cut the shell carefully: first of all, it is necessary to slit each chestnut on its rounded side. Take a small sharp, paring knife, lay the chestnuts on their flat sides, make a long slit crosswise over the top. Make sure you cut carefully through the outer shell but not the nut inside. This slitting allows the steam to escape during the cooking process.
Roast: place the chestnuts in a roasting dish large enough to have one layer of chestnuts, without overcrowding them. Cook in the hot oven for up to 30 minutes, checking from time to time, until they split.
It is best to roast then in small batches as they are cracked and peeled when hot, otherwise, it is impossible to remove the inner brown skin, if it gets cold
Cool, peel and serve.
Microwaving: prepare the chestnuts in the same way as above. Then place 6 to 8 in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Cook, uncovered, on full power, 850 watts or High, for 2 to 3 minutes or until the flesh is tender. Timing can vary depending on chestnut size and microwave power.
Boiling: this method gives a smooth texture most suitable for cooking in soups or purées. To do this, then boil for 30 minutes instead of roasting. Peel, then chop or purée as required.
