To me, few things signal the arrival of winter more than the sweet chestnut, says Martin Hollis, executive chef at the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews.
As soon as I see them at the farmers’ markets, I happily scoop them up, filling a bag with them.
Chestnuts (not to be confused with horse chestnuts or conkers, which are poisonous) must be cooked before they can be eaten. The insides are large and sweet, and do well on their own as a snack, chopped and added to savoury stuffings, or added to desserts.
Here are a few favourite receipts which are not only great for Christmas Day but make any day a little more special.
My chestnut and sausage stuffing serves six and you need: 100g premium pork sausages, 100g cooked or vacuum-packed chestnuts, finely chopped, 2 shallots, finely chopped, 75g fresh breadcrumbs, 1½ tbsp chopped fresh sage, 1 egg, beaten, salt and pepper. Remove the sausage meat from the skins and put into a bowl. Add the chopped chestnuts and shallots and mix into the sausage meat. Add the breadcrumbs, sage, egg and some seasoning and mix thoroughly. Stuff into the neck end of a chicken or turkey, shaping any leftover stuffing into walnut-sized balls to cook separately. If you have made stuffing balls, arrange them on a lightly oiled baking tray and put into the oven for the last 30 minutes of the bird’s cooking time, Alternatively, put all of the stuffing into a lightly greased ovenproof dish, spreading it out evenly and packing it down. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C, 400F, Gas 6 for 40 minutes.
To make Brussels sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts for six, take 500g Brussels sprouts, 140g diced pancetta, 200g cooked chestnuts, 1 tbsp. light muscovado sugar, 200ml vegetable stock.
Boil the sprouts for 3 mins until starting to soften slightly, then drain. Fry the pancetta until crisp, then remove from the pan and set aside. Add the chestnuts and sugar, tossing in the pan, then add the stock and reduce by half. Add the sprouts and pancetta back to the pan and warm through to serve.
Chef’s tip
Peeled chestnuts need to be placed in an air-tight container and refrigerated if they aren’t going to be used immediately. They can keep in the refrigerator for two or three days.
