This is the right season to enjoy some crunchy roasted chestnuts! Golden and crunchy, roasted chestnuts are simply delicious!! When my brother and I were kids, my father used to make some roasted chestnuts before bed time….We loved it!
In this post I’ll share the method to prepare amazing roasted chestnuts directly on the stove, just like my father used to do, but make sure you follow the instructions and you protect yourself with the proper equipment, in order to avoid disasters! :-). If you carefully follow all the steps this method is fairly easy and safe.
Tip. During the cooking time keep away from the fire as much as possible and wear oven gloves for extra safety.
How to make roasted chestnuts
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time:15-20 minutes
Ingredients
500 g of fresh chestnuts
just a small splash good quality white wine (avoid putting the bottle close to the fire when you cook and use it)
What you need.
a gas stove
a frying pan with holes to cook chestnuts (you can buy it or you can make your own, by piercing an old frying pan with a large nail, using a hammer)
a long stainless steel kitchen utensil (don’t use anything with plastic or wood)
Good oven gloves
Preparation.
1. Check, wash and dry the chestnuts.
2. Using a sharp knife, cut the chestnuts one by one, making a 2cm long incision on the round side (make an X or 1 long cut horizontally, either way it should be fine!).
This operation is necessary to release the steam from the nuts while they are cooking and it will also make them easier to peel (If you skip this step the chestnuts will explode during the cooking process, so make sure you cut them properly).
Cooking Method (on the stove).
1. Put the pierced pan with the chestnuts directly on the gas stove over a moderate-high heat. Stir constantly with a long stainless steel kitchen utensil.
2. Roast the chestnuts for about 10 minutes, then add a small splash of white wine (try to keep yourself and the bottle of wine away from the heat, while you do that) and continue to roast and stir for at least 5 more minutes.
3. Turn off the eat and put the chestnuts in a brown paper bag for a few minutes (this will keep them hot and moist). Peel the chestnuts while they are still hot, because once they are cool they become much more difficult to peel.
Tip. You can bake the chestnuts at 220° C (428° F) for about 20 minutes, instead of cooking them on the stove top; it’s probably a safer cooking method…However, I prefer the method above, because the chestnuts are much tastier and crunchier, when cooked directly over the flame!
Come preparare ottime caldarroste a casa.
In questo articolo vedremo insieme come preparare delle ottime caldarroste, cotte direttamente sul fornello, proprio come mio padre era solito fare, quando io e mio fratello eravamo bambini.
Seguite attentamente le istruzioni indicate e vedrete che questo è un metodo abbastanza semplice e sicuro.
Nota. Durante la cottura delle caldarroste, per quanto possibile, cercate di stare lontano dal fuoco e indossate dei guanti da forno per protezione.
Preparazione delle caldarroste.
Tempo di preparazione: 5 minuti
Tempo di cottura: 15-20 minuti
Ingredienti
500 g di castagne fresche
un dito di vino bianco di buona qualità (fate attenzione a non avvicinare troppo la bottiglia di vino al fuoco)
L’attrezzatura
un fornello a gas
una padella forata per caldarroste (potete farne una voi forando più volte una vecchia padella, con un chiodo grosso e un martello).
un cucchiaio grande di acciaio con manico lungo (non utilizzate plastica o legno)
guanti da forno
Preparazione.
1. Controllate, lavate e asciugate le castagne.
2. Utilizzando un coltello molto affilato, tagliate le castagne, una ad una, facendo un’ incisione di circa 2 cm sulla parte bombata. Questa operazione è necessaria per fare evaporare l’acqua dai frutti durante la cottura, se no le castagne col calore possono esplodere.
Metodo di cottura (sul fornello)
1. Mettete la padella forata, con le castagne, direttamente sul fornello a fuoco medio. Mescolate spesso, utilizzando un grosso cucchiaio di acciaio con il manico lungo.
2. Fate arrostire le castagne per circa 10 minuti, quindi insaporite con una piccola spruzzata di vino bianco (cercate di tenere la bottiglia di vino lontana dal fuoco). Continuate a cuocere le castagne per almeno altri 5 minuti.
3. Spegnete il fuoco e mettere le castagne in un sacchetto di carta per alcuni minuti (serve a mantenerle calde e umide). Sbucciate le castagne mentre sono ancora calde perché, una volta raffreddate, sbucciarle diventa molto più difficile.
Nota. È possibile cuocere le castagne nel forno a 220 ° C per circa 20 minuti, invece di utilizzare il fornello. Io preferisco cuocerle direttamente sulla fiamma perché, in questo modo, le castagne risultano molto più croccanti e saporite
This post made me think of the holidays coming up, and the line “roasting chestnuts on an open fire….” I have bookmarked this page for reference when I need to roast some chestnuts this winter!
I remembered how my father used to roast some chestnuts for me and my brother, when we were kids…I love their delicate flavour, the smell of chestnuts roasting on the flame, the tradition behind the method… In fact, I love everything about it! 🙂
Nothing like the smell of chestnuts roasting…. 🙂
that’s true! 🙂
I’ll have to keep this…we do have an asian market near our home where they roast them outside. It’s always so lovely to walk past and they hand you one as you pass by. 🙂
If you can get some freshly made roasted chestnuts, right outside the door, well, I am sure they taste even better! 😉
Cannot wait to get my hands on some chestnuts so I can roast some like you! I definitely am starting to get in the Christmas spirit and can see myself making these for the holiday period!
In Italy, this is the right season to get fresh chestnuts… Roasting chestnuts is fun! And they are sooooooo delicious!!! 🙂
Does the wine not spill directly on to the flames when you pour it in? I have never used a pan with holes in it before.
This is a much different way to make chestnuts than my mother taught me… but it looks more delicious. Shh! Don’t tell 🙂
it does but you use just a little so nothing happens. They are delicious…I tried cooking the chestnuts in the oven, but they don’t taste the same. just keep the bottle away from the fire and drop just a little bit of wine on the chestnuts. For extra safety keep away from the fire…But really it is quite a safe method if you follow the steps.
I was given some fresh chetsnuts from my parents-in-law & I wanted this recipe to be exact! thanks for this! xxx
Perfect timing! :-)))
We made it just now & they are so delicious! Just perfect!
Thanks for this roasting instruction, Serena! I wish to try this method with my kids at home, they all love chestnuts. I pretty sure that this will make a nice memories for us! 🙂
I have some really dear memories!:-) Thank you so much Nino!! Have a wonderful week! X