A festivity I can get behind
Nearly all of us are familiar with the lyric “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” which oozes out of every radio this time of year. I for one though, was not actually familiar with chestnuts until today. Being a Grinch in general (proof), I get bothered with all the Christmas traditions being shoved down my throat from mid-October onwards. I refused to simply roast the chestnuts (despite the cooking instructions being in on the conspiracy too). However, my sister is a complete Christmas enthusiast – if I strayed too far from the Season, I would be made into mincemeat! A compromise was born: I present to you my Not-So-Traditional-But-Still-Seasonal-Roast-Chestnuts.
What You’ll Need:
- 300 g approx Chestnuts
- 3 Small oranges
- 20g Butter
- 3 tsp Vanilla sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
Preheat your festive ovens to 200°C. If you’re a Believer, check it for elves beforehand – as flavoursome as they are, cooking one is a surefire way to land on the Naughty list. Line up the chestnuts and with a sharp knife, deeply slice a cross into them.
Took ages to polish these for the photo… Another reason to dislike Christmas
Peel the oranges so that the rind is left in reasonable-sized pieces that can be placed over the chestnuts later on.
Everything is falling nicely into place
Slide a tiny lump of butter into each chestnut and place them on a baking tray. Then lightly sprinkle the vanilla sugar over them.
It’s at this point I realise I’m humming some Christmas jingle
Despite an in-depth search of supermarket shelves, I couldn’t find any of the Christmas magic that’s apparently available in every retail outlet across the country come December 1st. Should you find yourself in a similar position, dust them with cinnamon instead. Take a few segments of orange and squeeze the juice over the openings. Top the chestnuts with the peel. Admire. Pop in the oven for 15 mins.
All ready to go!
Remove. Admire again.
Had I tried to roast these over the fire, I think my mother would have had a fit
Then plate them up and reach for some eggnog… Another thing I’ve yet to try first hand. While they’re certainly tasty morsels to munch on as I’ve never had them before, I’ve nothing to compare them to. This is where I’ve to ask for the opinions of fellow, more experienced foodies. Thoughts?
Wow … have tried to do chestnuts … but I have never manage very well – like the whole idea about orange and butter, so I put this on file .. and if I find chestnuts in the supermarket next week will I give it a try.
Lovely looking chestnuts Lucy. I look forward to eating them!
Conor
Personally I think roasting them dries them up too much… I prefer to make a small slit, boil for a few minutes, peel (easy to do now) then boil again or sauté in butter until just soft and serve as a veg (perfect with sprouts or cabbage) or just munch them!
Oh cool! Thanks. Apart from preventing them drying out, does it do anything to the text of them? I found the ones I cooked quite chewy… rubbery almost. I’m not sure if that’s how they’re supposed to taste or not