Can you believe that before today I had never tasted a chestnut before? I remember playing conkers as a child, but I can’t have been very good cause I didn’t even seem to remember what they look after the tough brown outer layer is removed.
I got a bag of Chestnuts from Tesco before I had really decided what to do with them. Firstly I just wanted to try them, just to see what all the fuss was about, then I wanted to try some amazingly autumnal recipes.
Asking around on twitter I was directed by @goodshoeday and @aforkful both very helpful and useful to know foodies, to @essexgourmet‘s latest post on Chestnuts. It is a great post on how to successfully peel chestnuts with a handful of recipes which contain Chestnuts.
I used the roasting method to peel my chestnuts for the Beef and Chestnut Stew recipe, because even though this method tends to dry them out I would be cooking mine in liquid for around an hour and a half. I used the following recipe from the BBC for Beef and Chestnut Red Wine Stew.
I served mine with Brussels Sprouts and New Potatoes. I have to say I found it really quite sweet, and the texture of the chestnuts a little strange. If you already know you like Chestnuts in savoury things then by all means try it. For me however I like my savoury dished savoury.
I didn’t use up all my chestnuts in this dish so look forward to hopefully some more chestnut inspired recipes in the next couple of days!