Roasted chestnuts

Step-by-step cooking

1. Step 1:

   

   How to distinguish edible chestnuts from inedible ones and where do they grow? Chestnuts that can be eaten grow in France, Spain, Western Europe, Turkey, Southeast Asia and the Caucasus.

2. Step 2:

   

   The fruits of the edible chestnut are enclosed in a prickly shell. It is not easy to get nuts with your bare hands, it is better to use a sharp knife and thick gloves for this. Inside the shell there are 2-3 nuts of the correct almond shape.

3. Step 3:

   

   The fruits of inedible (horse) chestnut usually have a smooth shell with slightly protruding pimples. The nuts have a rounded or uneven surface. It is impossible to eat horse chestnut, it is more often used for animal feed or preparation of medicines and cosmetics.

4. Step 4:

   

   So, gather the chestnut. If you probably don't have one, then buy nuts in a store, supermarket or at the market.

5. Step 5:

   

   Immerse the chestnut in cold water and leave for five minutes. Wash thoroughly, then drain the water and dry the nuts with a kitchen towel or napkins.

6. Step 6:

   

   Make deep cross-shaped incisions on each nut. Use a sharp knife and be extremely careful, it is very easy to injure your hands.

7. Step 7:

   

   How to fry chestnuts? Put the chestnuts in a dry frying pan in one even layer. Which frying pan is better to use for roasting chestnuts? Take dishes with thick edges and bottoms.

9. Step 8:

   

   Sprinkle the chestnuts with cold water, cover the pan with a lid and send it to a high heat (alternatively, you can put a wet cloth on top of the nuts, this will prevent the chestnuts from drying out during cooking). When the pan warms up, turn the stove down to slightly above average and cook for a few minutes.

10. Step 9:

    

    Periodically open the lid and turn the nuts over with a spoon or spatula. Also, a couple of times during cooking, sprinkle the pan with cold water (or moisten a napkin).

11. Step 10:

    

    Chestnuts will be ready in 20-30 minutes. The pulp of some may protrude from under the shell- this is quite normal.

12. Step 11:

    

    Remove the nuts from the pan, cool slightly and peel. This is done without much difficulty. If the nuts have cooled down, then it will be difficult to free the kernel from the peel.

13. Step 12:

    

    This is how the finished roasted chestnut looks.

14. Step 13:

    

    I like to sprinkle the nuts with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and seasonings (Adegean or Svan).