Chestnuts Roasting on an open fire

This is the season when all sorts of great food memories come flooding back. I love the food during this time of the year, plus all the other traditions we have in England at Christmas. You will see a few of those before the year is over.

Roasted Chestnuts are the best! At this time of year you can get them from Street Vendors in England.They are roasted in their skins and served hot, and it is an amazing flavor with an indescribable smell. If you can't make it to Europe to buy them on the street, you can do it at home in your oven.

Chestnuts are shiny brown nuts whose thick casing has long, sharp, needle-like spikes (burrs). There are usually two to four nuts per casing. Unlike other nuts, chestnuts have a high starch and water content but low protein and fat levels. They've never been as popular in British kitchens as in Continental ones, but they're a versatile and flavorful pantry ingredient. Chestnuts are available fresh, ground, dried, puréed or vacuum-packed

Growing up we called them Conkers and would peel and eat them from the tree; they were so starchy though and weren't very good! They are much better roasted or baked.

Chestnuts are most popular in stuffing, but they add a great flavor to desserts too. The puree is similar to an almond paste, which of course I can't bring into our home :(

When my "nut allergy" daughter goes to college it will be safe to make some recipes with nuts again!

Roasted Chestnuts - recipe

A great way to roast your chestnuts is to place them, with the cut sides up, on a baking sheet or cookie sheet. Roast them in a hot oven (about 400 degrees F) until the chestnuts appear tender. This will take about 20 minutes. To test to see if they have been roasted enough, stick a fork through the cut in shell and test for tenderness.

Finally, wrap the hot chestnuts in an old towel (no matter which way you chose to roast them) and squeeze them hard. Squeezing the chestnuts will break and crush the skins which will make peeling them much easier to do. Let the crushed chestnuts rest inside the towel for about 5 minutes before unwrapping them.

Open up the towel and feast and enjoy!


You'll know when they are roasted to perfection by the fact that you can easily open the shell and find beautiful golden colored chestnut meat inside. It's sweet to the taste and a little crumbly in texture. Delicious!

thanks for reading I will be back soon with a british delicacy.....