Sweet Chestnuts

Agapanthus

Tinned or vacuum packed will be fine. For stuffing, I usually use sausage meat plus a tin of chestnut puree, mixed and well seasoned, plus some tinned or vacuum packed whole chestnuts just folded in at the end. When cooking for a large number I sometimes add chopped nuts or pinenut kernels too, to improve the texture.

This is so popular in our family that there's never any left!

With the sprouts, try chopped bacon fried crisp with the sprouts and chestnuts. That's an amazing combination!

misskool

waitrose often have the merchant gourmet ones that are vacuum packed.

This year, I got loads from the market and boiled them! 10 minutes simmering and then slice them in half and they peeled off easily. I made a slit in them before boiling.

I use Hugh's Christmas stuffing recipe (http://www.waitrose.com/recipe/Hugh_Fernley-Whittingstalls_Christmas_Stuffing.aspx)

foxgloves

I gathered mine from a local park so they are cooked and waiting in the freezer. If you buy fresh ones (our market seems to have lovely big ones this year), then you cut a slit in them with a sharp knife and put them in a boiling saucepan of water for 5 or 10 mins or so. This makes them easier to peel. Drain and peel off the shells. You need to get the brown membrane underneath off too as it tastes quite bitter. Then you return the peeled chestnuts to the pan, cover with fresh water and simmer until they are soft. You then drain and chop (if you like a bit mroe texture which I do) or mash, cool them, and add to your sausagemeat or whatever other ingredients you recipe uses. If you don't have time for this, then the bags of frozen whole chestnuts are fine to use instead.

overlykeensaver

if you haven't roasted them before I would splash out and get a vacuum pack (merchant gourmet) or tin of chestnuts for your stuffing.

If you fancy roasting them (mmm and they are sooo tasty), put a deep slit in the middle of each chestnut, get your oven really hot (about 200C) and bung them in on a roasting tin for 20 mins. The shells will open and it is just a bit fiddly to shell them.

katholicos

I made chestnut and apricot stuffing balls the other day and they are now in he freezer for Christmas. I bought the chestnuts from Morrisons for £1.59p. I bought frozen chestnuts and they were with the frozen veg but i had to ask a staff member if they had any as try as i might, i couldn't find them. As the recipe called for defrosted chestnuts i simply didn't bother putting them in the freezer when i got home and then later on i made the stuffing with them. When they were cooked i sampled one, okay, two....and they are scrummy!

I used this recipe!

Justamum

If you are going to get fresh ones and roast them yourself watch out for maggots! I used to love roasting chestnuts, but a couple of years ago virtually an entire batch was maggotty _pale_. I've never bought them since.

allydowd

In Tesco fresh chestnuts are in the fruit and veg section.

Frith

Hi there.

In my freezer I have 2 bags of chestnuts gathered last Autumn. They were boiled and peeled and are in little bits. Does anyone know of a good recipe? I don't really want to "hide" them in stuffing as they were such a pain to peel!

Thanks.

Pink.

Hi ACEY,

This thread has some ideas that may help:

Sweet Chestnuts

I'll add your post to it later to keep the replies together.

Pink

villagelife

I have an abundance of sweet chestnuts and am looking for recipe ideas to use them up.
Does anyone have any ideas?
I do make a good stuffing with them but would like to try something else.