Each of us loves to eat tasty and satisfying food. Often the housewives face the question: what to cook in order to please loved ones and not spend a lot of effort and time on it? If you really want to surprise your family, try Roasted Chestnuts!

Many, for sure, do not even know that chestnuts are edible, but this is true. And if you cook them correctly, the dish will turn out to be unusual, tasty and original. Chestnuts have been a favorite delicacy since ancient times. The most ancient Romans and Greeks loved to eat them for dessert and bite with wine. Chestnuts are widely used in European cuisine. They are included in the menu of many restaurants in France, Italy and other places that know a lot about food. For example, in Paris, chestnuts are cooked right on the street in special large pans and immediately treated to passers-by. Moreover, in France they are baked on fires, in pans with special holes, they are cooked into soups, served with seafood, and even bread and sweets are made from chestnut flour.

How to roast chestnuts properly?

The chestnuts taste like a cross between a nut and a potato. If eaten raw, they will be crispy; if boiled, they will become soft. Chestnut is used as a base for a dish. They can be bought in regular stores by weight, frozen and in cans as a ready-made puree. But it is even easier to find chestnuts right on the street, because they actively grow on trees in the fall. But be careful! If you decide to pick chestnuts yourself, you need to know which fruits you can take, and which ones are better to refuse. They all look the same and are covered with a brown shell. But not everything can be eaten! Edible chestnuts are slightly elongated and bulbous. The trees on which they grow have carved, jagged leaves that are attached to the branches with a cuttings. If the leaves resemble maple, it is better not to pluck the chestnuts from them, because can be easily poisoned. When you crack such a fruit, you will see that their nuts are round in shape and slightly embossed.

Chestnuts are extremely healthy, as with all nuts, they contain natural plant proteins and carbohydrates that are easily absorbed by the body. They contain such important substances as ascorbic and folic acids, potassium, copper, iron and zinc.

How to fry chestnuts in a pan?

First, they must be cut. This can be done with scissors or a regular knife. Cut from the side to slightly touch the nut itself. This is done so that steam is freely released from the chestnuts when frying.

If the chestnuts are not young and the flesh is wrinkled, you can add a little water to them or cover with a damp towel. This will allow them to steam well.
So now that we've learned how to select and process chestnuts, it's time to learn how to cook them!

Chestnuts need to be peeled and bitter streaks removed. Then they should be rubbed with a brush and washed with plain water. After that, as we have already said, you need to make cuts in the chestnuts or just pierce them deeply with a fork.

Use any large, thick skillet, a special grill dish is best. Then warm it up well and lay out the chestnuts. You don't need to add any oil! Remember to cover the chestnuts with a lid and roast them over moderate heat. If they start to crackle and burst, just shake the pan. Take your time to cool the dish right away. They are good hot!

Thoroughly approach the choice of dishes. There are special pans for roasting chestnuts. Their distinctive feature is small holes at the bottom.

Important rules for frying:

• Don't roast the chestnuts for too long. If you overheat the fruit, you will not be able to chew them!
• Eat nuts hot or they will lose their flavor and nutrients.
• Remove not only the shells, but also the partitions.
• Raw chestnuts are best stored in dark, cool rooms. For example, in closets.

How to roast chestnuts in the oven?

Another fun way to cook chestnuts is to bake them in the oven, and you also need to wash and cut them to get started.

Next, put the fruits on a baking sheet and put in the oven, preheated to 220 degrees. Wait for the moment when your chestnuts begin to crack and open. This means that the dish is ready and ready to taste. You can add salt or sugar to add a savory taste.

And here is another interesting recipe for cooking chestnuts in the oven.

Compound:

1. Chestnuts - 500 gr.
2. Eggs - 2 pcs.
3. Cheese - 200 gr.
4. Breadcrumbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Grate nuts, cheese, breadcrumbs and pepper on a plate.
• Break the eggs into a separate bowl and add the chestnuts.
• Next, combine the resulting mixture with the cheese, and place everything in a greased baking dish. Bake until tender.

It is curious that in Turkey glazed chestnuts are considered their own national invention and are called Kestane Sekeri. An oriental delicacy is no different from its European counterpart: neither in taste, nor in the method of preparation, nor in the price - quite high, because we are talking about a delicacy product. Fried fruits of Castanea sativa are also not uncommon in Turkish cities.

In Russia, edible chestnuts are not widespread, since the thermophilic trees that bring these delicious nuts grow only in the south of the country - in the Krasnodar Territory... So if you want to try a very healthy fruit, it is better to go in late autumn, or for the winter holidays in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, or, for example, China and Thailand.

How chestnuts are eaten in different countries

Wherever we go, street food vendors will cook fragrant nuts in about the same way. Braziers are installed on small carts - wood-burning stoves, and sometimes on crystalline salt, which burns longer and is less consumed. This method is very common in Spain.

Chestnuts are thrown into large pans with holes and, stirring occasionally with a spatula, cook until the shell begins to crack with a characteristic sound. They sell a delicacy in 10 - 15 pieces (it is difficult to eat more at a time) in kraft paper bags. In many western cities, one more empty packaging is necessarily added - for peeled shells.

Europeans do not flavor chestnuts with anything, believing that the taste of the product is good in its pure form, without such enhancers as salt or sugar. According to tradition, fried fruits are washed down with mulled wine or just good young red wine. If you don't feel like alcohol, you can replace it with natural grape juice.


And in China or Thailand, chestnuts are thrown into the wok along with small pebbles and constantly shaken so that the fruits are evenly baked. Unlike their European counterparts, Asian traders sprinkle sugar syrup on the nuts to add shine and special sweetness.

Note

We will disappoint gourmets - they will not taste the most delicious chestnuts, called marron, from hawkers. Prices for nuts that once served as food for the poor are growing from year to year, so elite varieties are "affordable" only for expensive restaurants. On the streets, we will be offered simpler options, and you need to be ready for this.

And immediately advice

It is best to buy chestnuts not on the central streets, which are actively visited by tourists, but in remote areas or small towns, where they are mainly prepared for the local population. Visitors come and go, but if the product is not liked by regular customers living in the trading area, the seller will be left without revenue.

Chestnuts are recognized as one of the most valuable products of the autumn-winter period. With regular use, they are quite capable of replacing the vitamin complexes that are often prescribed to us at this time of the year. Saturating the body with carbohydrates and proteins, unique nuts energize us, improve the work of the cardiovascular system, normalize the blood composition, and also help fight the blues caused by lack of sun and cold weather.

If we do not plan to travel in the season of chestnuts to where they are a common food, it is worth going to the market or the supermarket and preparing the treat ourselves. Fry or bake the fruits on the shoulder even for novice housewives. Of course, if they know what to do with chestnuts and are able to figure out some of the intricacies of the process.


About culinary secrets - known and not so well known, further in the article.

Cooking methods

Fundamental rules:

1. Raw nuts are difficult to digest and are difficult to shell from. Therefore, culinary treatment is recommended for them. The most delicious fried and baked fruits - they can be eaten as a separate dish or served as a side dish, but boiled ones are best used for making soups and mashed potatoes.
2. First, the nuts brought from the store are sorted, removing the spoiled ones. The easiest way is to send your purchase in a large bowl of water, and then discard everything that floats to the surface as worthless.
3. Just before cooking, the chestnuts are washed and dried with a paper towel. The shell is cut or pierced, otherwise, when heated, the resulting steam will burst it. Some cooks recommend after that to soak the nuts for 2 - 3 hours in water, which will make their taste softer and richer.
4. You need to clean the fruits warm, as soon as they stop burning your hands.
5. Hot, freshly cooked chestnuts are much more aromatic and tastier than cold ones. For this reason, it is undesirable to cook "in reserve". You need to take a portion that you can eat right away.
6. It is very important not to "overexpose" the fruit in a pan or oven, so that they do not lose moisture.

We cut the shell correctly

If we do not break the integrity of the shell before cooking, we are unlikely to be able to feast on chestnuts. The steam formed during heating will turn the fruit into small crumbs, which will fly in different directions no worse than an artillery shell. And we will not only be left without a delicacy, but we may also suffer if we fry over an open fire and do not use the lid.

There are several ways to avoid this kind of trouble:

• pierce the nuts deeply with a fork (about 1/3)
• make a cruciform cut with a knife
• remove the sharp "nose" of the fruit, while capturing a little pulp

The last option is the simplest and fastest, it will save our fingers if the rounded chestnut slips out from under the knife. In addition, the cruciform incision opens up during frying and the nut becomes more dry. And with a fork it is not always possible to pierce the hard shell to the end and the risk of explosions increases during the cooking process.

In addition to the hard upper shell, the fruits must be freed from the thin elastic peel underneath. Only in this form are they suitable for use.

How to fry in a pan: culinary subtleties

If we cook on the stove, it will take us no more than a quarter of an hour for the delicate product to reach its condition and not dry out.

The classic roasting algorithm found on the Internet and tested by me for training purposes:

1. Put the prepared fruits in a thick-walled deep frying pan, preheated. It is better that the nuts fit in one layer, but you can make two. Important: in no case should you take a Teflon-coated pan, otherwise it will be hopelessly spoiled. Ideally, the cookware should be cast iron.
2. Fry over low heat (so that the chestnuts do not crack), stirring constantly for 12-15 minutes. As the fruit is cooked, the shell of the fruit will acquire a light shade, and some places will be charred to black - this is a normal phenomenon that should not be feared.
3. The readiness of the product is evidenced by the characteristic crackling, a very appetizing potato-nutty smell spreading through the house and the appearance of small cracks on the casing.

Option number 2, with oil:

1. Pour vegetable oil into the pan, heat it up, and then put the prepared nuts in one layer. Cover them with moistened paper towels to protect them from drying out, and simmer under a lid over low heat for 20 minutes. Some recipes suggest skipping oil by using a dry skillet.
2. From time to time, the fruits need to be shaken without opening the lid. We moisten the napkins as they dry.
3. On finished nuts, the shell cracks deeply and is easily removed.
4. If the fruits still seem harsh, you can peel them and additionally boil them in milk. The liquid should cover the main ingredient by about 2 cm. Honey (2 tablespoons) and cinnamon (1 stick) are used as natural flavors.

We wash and dry the sorted chestnuts. We cut off the "noses" or make cruciform incisions.

I liked the method with cutting off the noses more. Less hassle, faster, and the result is the same.

Put it in a thick-walled pan. Our alternative to wet wipes is a thin, approx. 2 mm layer of water on the bottom of the cooking utensil. It will create a moist environment that will keep the nuts from drying out.


We cover the future culinary masterpiece with a lid and put on a small fire.


First, the chestnuts are steamed and then fried. At the end, the lid can be removed, and the fruits must be stirred so that they do not burn.


We clean the finished nuts from the shell - it is removed very easily and we immediately proceed to the feast.


Chestnuts are very tender and tasty. I recommend giving it a try!

On the grill

In imitation of street vendors, exotic nuts can also be baked on the grill.

1. Place the washed and sorted chestnuts in warm water for 10 - 15 minutes.
2. Cut the shell crosswise on the convex side of the fruit.
3. If there is no special pan with holes for roasting chestnuts, you can restrict yourself to ordinary cast-iron dishes with thick walls, placing them on the wire rack. In any case, the fruits should be laid out with a cut down and placed in the brazier on a high layer of coals.
4. After frying the product for 6 - 7 minutes, with occasional shaking, turn it over to the other side and bring it to readiness.
5. When the fruits have cooled slightly, they are peeled and served.

How to bake

Baked fruits are the tastiest and healthiest. They are added to salads and main courses, make a complex garnish for meat or pour over with sweet sauce and serve as a dessert. Roasting chestnuts is a little easier than pan-frying, especially if your oven is equipped with a grill. But you can do without this function.

There are recipes where chestnuts are kept in a solution with spices or heavily sweetened water before being cooked in the oven.

We offer a variant of Mediterranean cuisine, the dishes of which are not only mouth-watering, but also good for your health.

1. Pre-sorted and washed chestnuts should be cut along the round side, preferably crosswise, so that they are easier to clean later. The depth of the cut must be at least 5 mm.
2. We spread the fruits on a baking sheet, cut up. Sprinkle lightly with water.
3. We preheat the oven to 200 ° C and send our chestnuts into it. After a quarter of an hour, the fruits need to be turned over and wait another 5 minutes, and if they seem not soft enough, then more.
4. Strongly open cuts indicate the readiness of the nuts.

Baked chestnuts are best served with semi-sweet red wine.

Microwave to help us

With this miracle device at hand, it takes about 10 minutes to cook chestnuts, keeping our labor to a minimum.


We wash the nuts, select the spoiled specimens. We make deep cruciform notches on the convex side or cut off the spouts.


We spread the fruits in a special dish for the microwave. We attach our blank, if it will not be used as a dessert.


Pour a little water at the bottom of the dish, literally 2 mm.


Cover with a lid and send to cook at full power for 6-8 minutes.


This is how beautiful our chestnuts look in the microwave now! Neither give nor take the flowers that have opened in the morning sun!


We taste this splendor. If the pulp of the nuts is not soft enough, keep them in the microwave for another 2 - 3 minutes.


We cleanse the fully prepared fruits and call the family to the table. Let everyone enjoy such an exquisite delicacy.

Diet product: how to cook in a peel

Boiled fruits are ideal for a dietary menu. They contain the least amount of calories.

Cooking chestnuts is very simple: after cutting the shell, they are thrown into boiling water, salted to taste, spices are added: bay leaves, peppercorns, etc. The cooking time ranges from 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the fruit.

It is better to take finished nuts out of hot water one at a time so that they do not have time to cool down and the shell is easier to remove.

How to clean

If we want to freeze southern nuts for future use or try them raw, we need to get rid of the tough skins. This can be done as follows:

1. We make, as usual, an incision on one side of the fruit.
2. Throw them in boiling water for 3 - 5 minutes.
3. We take it out and send it to the freezer for 4 - 6 hours.
4. After that, blanch again and immediately put it under a stream of cold water.

After this contrast shower, the kernels will literally "jump out" of the shell.


Roasted or baked chestnuts are one of the easiest dishes to prepare, but, unfortunately, quickly become boring.

Several recipes

What other delicacies from this product can you treat yourself and your loved ones?

Old recipe cream soup

Nothing warms you up in cold weather like a thick and rich first course. It is this kind of soup - nutritious, delicate in consistency and incredibly aromatic, that we want to offer.

We will need:

• 400 g raw chestnuts
• 700 ml poultry broth
• 1 tbsp. l. melted butter
• 1 tsp flour
• 100 ml cream, 10% fat
• salt and spices to taste

How to cook

1. Peeled as described above, place the chestnuts in a saucepan. Add a dressing made from butter, ground with flour, there.
2. Pour in the pre-cooked broth (from chicken or turkey of your choice), add salt if necessary, add spices and cook chestnuts until soft.
3. Then we puree the fruits in a blender, adding a little liquid so that the mass does not turn out to be dry.
4. Put the puree in a water bath, reduce the fire to a minimum. Stirring constantly, combine the chestnut mass with the remaining broth.
5. Bringing the mixture to a homogeneous consistency, add the cream to it and lightly whisk everything together, without removing it from the water bath.
6. We immediately serve the soup to the table, decorate with herbs.

Vegetarian roast

Such a dish will decorate any table, competing with the usual potato-meat duo. Light and satisfying, it is equally suitable for those who follow the figure, and for those who prefer plant foods, and simply for connoisseurs of everything new, refined and original.

Ingredients:

• 300 g raw peeled chestnuts (can be replaced with canned or boiled)
• 500 g champignons
• 50 g hazelnuts
• ½ large onion
• 2 - 3 cloves of garlic
• 50 ml brandy
• favorite hot spices

Preparation

1. Fry the mushrooms cut into slices. Pour in brandy and simmer until all the liquid has evaporated.
2. Chop onion and garlic, fry them together, add spices.
3. Chop chestnuts and nuts finely.
4. Mix all the ingredients, put them on a baking sheet and, adding a little water, send them to an oven preheated to 180 ° C. We bake for about 40 minutes.

Sweet snack with coffee sauce

We have already tasted the first and second of the wonderful southern fruits, it's time for dessert. We offer a very simple and quick recipe. Nuts cooked using it can be served as an independent dish or as an effective addition to ice cream.

We need:

• 500 g boiled chestnuts
• 100 ml strong, freshly brewed coffee
• 2 egg yolks
• ½ cup cream 35% fat
• 3 tbsp. l. cognac and powdered sugar

Cooking method

1. We already know how and how much to cook chestnuts, so there will hardly be any difficulties with their preparation.
2. For the sauce, we need to beat the yolks well with brandy, cream and coffee.
3. We put the resulting lush, airy mass in a water bath, add powdered sugar and, stirring often, cook until it thickens.
4. Pour sauce over our nuts and serve.

Chestnuts are worth trying even for skeptics who are suspicious of unfamiliar, little-used products in our kitchen. These fruits provide a lot of room for creativity and culinary experimentation. Bon appetit, everyone!

Among the many famous cities in the world, Paris stands out, where thousands of couples in love come. They admire the beauty of architectural buildings, and also taste fried chestnuts, which only experienced chefs know how to cook. It is this exquisite dish that is considered one of the national products of France. Every year in Paris, there is a national holiday dedicated to the edible chestnut. At this time, right on the street, sellers fry an amazingly tasty delicacy in huge pans. It is not difficult to imagine how the air is filled with the pleasant aroma of heated fruits, and couples in love treat each other with them.

But not everyone can go to Paris, but many people can learn how to cook chestnuts. The main thing is to heed the advice of experienced chefs. In addition, it is important to find out what benefits the regular consumption of the product brings and possible contraindications. Let's try to understand these issues.

A close acquaintance with the lovers' delicacy

To learn how to cook chestnuts, you first need to get to know them better. Each fruit contains many useful substances, namely:

• fiber;
• sugar;
• proteins;
• starch;
• oils;
• tanning elements;
• a number of vitamins.

The fruit is widely used in folk medicine in the form of tinctures and decoctions. In addition, he has an exquisite taste, for which he received recognition all over the world. So, if you know how to cook an edible chestnut, the benefits and harms of the product, you can safely get down to business.

In order not to harm yourself, you should distinguish the edible fruit from the horse chestnut. Only the type of chestnut "Castanea sativa", which grows in the coastal regions of the Black Sea, is suitable for the preparation of the delicacy.

Often people who do not have understanding confuse sweet chestnut with "Zheludnik". It is this plant that can harm the body. On the other hand, excessive consumption of the product leads to food allergies, bloating, bowel upset and nausea. Eating fried chestnuts is contraindicated for people suffering from the following diseases:

• hypotension;
• renal failure;
• urolithiasis disease.

It is undesirable to include chestnuts in the diet for pregnant women and nursing mothers. Since the nut is considered a high-calorie product, it is contraindicated for people who are overweight.

Culinary secrets of creating a dish

French chefs make extensive use of chestnuts for their culinary delights. They cook them in a variety of ways:

• baked in the oven;
• fried in a pan;
• boiled in a saucepan;
• added to sweet desserts;
• used as an excellent snack for alcoholic beverages;
• the dried product is placed in the baking dough.

In any case, the dish comes out with an exotic taste and aroma. But how to cook chestnuts at home to feel like a Parisian? It turns out that everything is much simpler than it might seem.

There are several ways to create this amazing treat. For example, in order to efficiently fry the fruits, they take a wide frying pan. Then put the nuts on it.
Stirring constantly, they will be ready in half an hour. When the chestnuts have cooled, peel them off, sprinkle with sugar or salt. In this form, the treat is served to the table.

It is advisable to cook the fruits in a frying pan without fat. The fire should be medium.

Another way of how to roast chestnuts consists of the following actions:

1. Fruits are poured into a frying pan without fat. Turn on moderate heat and fry, stirring constantly.
2. When the nuts are warmed up, they are covered with wet chintz cloths.
3. Some cooks simply pour water into the pan. Then reduce the fire level to a minimum. Cover and grill for 30 minutes.

Check the readiness of the treat by pressing on the product. Soft specimens are removed from the heat and served. Many chefs know how to fry chestnuts in a pan and are happy to share their experience. But the product can also be cooked in the oven.

You can fry nuts in any pan, just not with a Teflon coating.

You can bake the product correctly by performing the following operations:

1. First, a miniature tip is cut from each fruit.
2. Spread on a baking sheet, evenly distributing over the entire area.
3. Place in oven for 15 minutes.
4. Finished nuts are peeled while warm.

The main rule of how to roast chestnuts in the oven is to preheat the oven to 240 degrees. In addition, you need to closely monitor the process. Once the fruits have lost moisture, they can be baked for only 7 minutes after that.

French notes on the dining table

Unfortunately, most of us will not have to walk the streets of Paris and sample roasted chestnuts. But any culinary specialist can learn how to cook chestnuts at home and feel like a Frenchman. Consider a few dishes that include fried fruits. They are used as a semi-finished product, added to vegetable stews. Chestnuts can be thoroughly kneaded with a rolling pin or chopped with a blender. Then stir with milk and add to:

• various sauces;
• souffle;
• pies;
• cakes;
• cupcakes;
• ice cream.

Because the product is versatile, it is easy to experiment with. Consider a recipe for how to cook chestnuts at home using complementary foods.

Chestnut pie

Ingredients:

• chicken;
• milk;
• butter (a piece for lubrication);
• salt.

The process of creating a dish:

The finished dish is cut into small portions. Serve with hot broth or puree soup.

As you can see, the “Fried Chestnuts” delicacy, the recipe of which is available to everyone, can be easily prepared at home. The main thing is to follow the instructions of specialists. And then, enjoying the taste of exquisite French food, you are mentally transported to the streets of the glorious city - Paris.

Secrets of cooking chestnuts - video

The noble chestnut is a fruit tree. In Europe, its fruits are very popular. Harvest festivals are dedicated to them, they are sung in songs, and in France they are a national dish along with cheese and wine. In Greece, chestnuts ripen in autumn, and then brisk trade begins on all streets and squares.

The best recipe for this dish is roasted chestnuts, grilled over an open fire.

They are eaten while still hot, washed down with young grape wine. They are not consumed raw, as they contain difficult-to-digest protein.

This dish has been known to mankind since the days of Ancient Rome, where it was served as a light snack for wine. An interesting legend is associated with it. According to her, the nymph Ney - Diana's friend, fleeing the love ardor of Jupiter, committed suicide. The almighty god could not save the nymph, but he managed to turn the girl into a tree with delicious fruits enclosed in a thorny shell.

Chestnuts are also associated with the Greek commander Alexander the Great. During his campaigns along the route of the troops, he ordered the planting of chestnut groves, hoping to use their fruits as food for his armies. And in the Ancient East, chestnut fruits were eaten long before the appearance of rice. The approximate age of this dish is over 6,000 years old.

It follows from this that chestnuts are an ancient dish, the recipes of which have survived to this day practically unchanged. They are all fried, boiled and baked as well, as they did long before our era.

How to cook chestnuts in a pan?

The horse chestnut growing in our latitudes is not edible, so if you have a desire to cook it, you will not be able to pick it on the street, you will have to go to the supermarket. This is a seasonal product, so it appears on our shelves only at the beginning of autumn and disappears by the end of winter.

When asked how to cook chestnuts at home, most would recommend roasting them. This can be done in a frying pan, on the grill rack, or in the oven. For frying in a frying pan, you need to take a special dish with holes. Although, what can I say? They also manage to cook on ordinary ones. In addition to the frying pan, you will also need a knife and napkins.

Before cooking the chestnuts, you need to cut them slightly, preferably crosswise. This is done so that they do not explode when exposed to steam. We put them on a dry preheated frying pan, cover with napkins soaked in water, and on top with a lid. Cooking time 20 minutes.

In this case, the fruits must be periodically stirred, as well as moistened dry napkins. The chestnuts are done when the shell starts to crack and peels easily from the core. In food, this dish is consumed hot. Do not forget to add salt and season it with any vegetable oil.

How to cook boiled chestnuts at home

You can cook chestnut fruits. This is done in order to be eaten in its pure form, as well as to subsequently be used in more complex dishes: for desserts, soups, side dishes, sauces for meat or fish.

First, the fruits need to be peeled, washed and sorted. Then water is boiled in a saucepan. The fruits themselves are dipped into the already boiling water. You do not need to cut them, they do not explode during cooking. Cooked depending on the size, from 15 to 25 minutes. After the chestnuts are ready, they need to be removed from the boiling water, cooled, and then peeled from the shell.

How to microwave chestnuts?

To safely cook the chestnuts in the microwave, make sure to cut each chestnut with a sharp knife. You can also pierce them with a fork. Then they are placed in a shallow dish, where hot water is added. You need to take a little water, only so that it covers the bottom of the dishes in a thin layer, but not the chestnuts themselves.

The fruits are salted on top, of course, if after cooking they will not be used in desserts. Then cover the dishes with cling film or a lid. Cooking time 6-8 minutes at full power.

After the microwave beep, try one thing for readiness. If necessary, steam for another 2-3 minutes. After the fruits are ready, they need to be cleaned and used for their intended purpose.

Since the kernels cooked in the microwave are steamed, they are recommended to be additionally fried. To do this, you can take an ordinary frying pan, which is greased with vegetable oil. The kernels are fried for 4-5 minutes.

Chestnut dessert recipe

Do you want to surprise and amaze loved ones or guests with an easy-to-prepare, but effective-looking dish? Try burning chestnuts for dessert.

For him you will need:

• 700 g of fruit;
• 50 grams of butter;
• 30 grams of sugar;
• 100 ml of brandy.

• Boil the chestnuts until tender. There are several options for how to do this. You can cook the kernels, having previously peeled them. And you can first cook it, as described above, and then clean it warm.
• Next, you need a fireproof mold. Lubricate the sides and bottom with melted butter. Then put the nucleoli inside, mix with the rest of the oil. Sprinkle sugar on top. After that, the mold is placed in an oven preheated to 200 ° C. Cooking time 20-25 minutes.
• Chestnut fruits are served hot. When serving, pour the dish with brandy and set it on fire.

There are several things you can do to make chestnut fruits tasty while preserving all of their nutritional benefits:

• When roasting chestnuts, stick to the recommended time, because when they are overcooked, they become tough and dry;
• It is easiest to remove the peel from fruits that are still warm;
• All membranes and membranes are completely removed from the cleaned nucleoli;
• Cook as much as you plan to eat, as over time, peeled kernels become tasteless and dry quickly;
• The fruits are stored in a dark and cool place.

When serving peeled chestnuts, try going a little further and create a Parisian romance at home. Put the dish in nice plates, put on holiday cutlery, pour wine or grape juice into glasses. Play music or romantic French comedy and enjoy a slice of France right in your home.

How to roast chestnuts

Hot chestnuts are one of the Parisians' favorite treats. They are prepared and sold right on the streets of the most romantic city in the world. Residents and guests of Paris buy them, and eat from a bag, closing their eyes with pleasure. And then they ask the French how to roast chestnuts in order to pamper themselves more often when they return home.

These reddish cinnamon fruits are good not only as a standalone dish. They are also included in many other recipes. But, before we tell you how to cook chestnuts, let's talk about which ones you can eat.

After all, this name hides several different varieties of nuts, externally similar to each other.

All of them are covered with a thorny green shell, under which the shiny fruits of a characteristic shade are hidden. Here are just those that are edible, more elongated, shaped like an onion, at the sharp end they have a tiny tail. The tree on which they grow has long, serrated leaves attached to a branch by a handle. You can cook chestnuts of this variety without any fear.

But the fruits of trees with large spreading leaves, somewhat reminiscent of maple, are not worth eating - you can get poisoned. Their nuts are round, sometimes lumpy. And, unfortunately, they are the ones that grow in abundance in central Russia. So the residents of this region are better off buying chestnuts in the store.

1. First of all, regardless of the chosen cooking method, they need to be cut. This can be done with special scissors, or with an ordinary sharp knife. Carefully make a longitudinal cut in the side, so as to slightly capture the flesh of the nut. You can prick with a fork, or cut the brown rind crosswise from a sharp edge. Almost any recipe for chestnuts begins with this action.

1. You can cook the chestnuts in the oven if you like. For her, it is better to make a cruciform incision on the fruit from one of the edges.

1. You can also microwave chestnuts. It is fast, modern and, if you are not too lazy and make the necessary cuts on each of them, it is safe.
2. Having prepared the fruits in this way, put them in a wide, but shallow container for microwave ovens.

Serve the peeled chestnuts hot in a nice plate. Eat them with soft music or good old French comedy, and enjoy the Parisian romance in your home.

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How to roast chestnuts at home. How to cook edible chestnuts in the oven, slow cooker, and skillet

For the preparation of a delicious side dish, dessert, first courses or salads, you can use the fruits of sowing chestnut or noble - they have a brown shiny peel and wrinkled kernels. Those who want to try such a delicacy should find out how European chefs prepare chestnuts.

Many housewives and chefs use this unique product not only as an independent dish, but also make soups, pilaf, etc. from it. pans, because the exotic nut flavor will fade as it cools.

How to peel chestnuts

To enjoy the taste of a nut, first prepare it correctly: select fruits suitable for eating, flood with water - those that float up, collect and discard, and continue to work with the rest. Make cruciform incisions on the side of the sharp edge, using scissors or a fork, and send them to fry. This action determines how easy it will be to peel the chestnuts from the skin later, and this is also what any recipe for roasted chestnuts starts with.

What chestnuts can be eaten

In cooking, roasted chestnuts are a famous dish with an amazing taste. Before you fry nuts yourself, you need to know what they are. So, you can eat chestnuts those that are covered with a thorny shell of green color. Elongated fruits are considered edible, in appearance and shape resembling an onion with a small tail at a sharp end - as in the photo.

It is worth noting that it is strictly forbidden to use knobby round nuts (horse) for cooking, because at best it threatens you with food poisoning. Such fruits grow on trees among large spreading leaves in central Russia, so residents of warm regions should still not take risks and, if desired, cook chestnuts, choose and buy them at the nearest store.

The benefits and harms of roasted chestnuts

If you want to try an exotic dish, then you need to figure out whether you should use it. Consider the benefits and harms of roasted chestnuts:

1. Of the positive qualities, it is worth paying special attention to the composition of the fruits: vitamins (choline, beta-carotene, vitamins A, B, C, E, K, PP, including ascorbic acid) and minerals (phosphorus, potassium, calcium, zinc, iron).
2. An important role in creating a positive characteristic of the product is played by its nutritional value and composition: water, ash, saturated fatty acids, mono- and disaccharides, dietary fiber.
3. Contraindications to the use of chestnuts include the fact that when fried, they contain carbohydrates and a large amount of starch, and this is unacceptable for people who are prone to overweight.

Calorie content of roasted chestnuts

One of the most popular edible varieties is sweet chestnuts. The calorie content of fried chestnuts is about 180 calories per 100 grams of weight, so eating them in small quantities will not negatively affect your parameters. When roasted, an exotic nut contains a lot of carbohydrates and vegetable protein, which will especially appeal to those people who do not eat meat.

How to roast chestnuts at home

Such an unusual ingredient can be used for different dishes: first, second, desserts, but the beginning of each recipe is heat treatment. How are chestnuts roasted? There are several ways. You can fry chestnuts in a regular or special pan with holes, bake in the oven, boil. Read on for tips to help you understand how to roast chestnuts at home.

How to fry chestnuts in a pan

The presented method is a classic method for preparing edible fruits. Before frying the chestnuts in a pan, you need to soak them, and then use them, and take only those that fell to the bottom of the bowl. Step-by-step instruction:

1. Pierce each fruit with a fork or cut.
2. Place the nuts in a skillet filled with hot oil and cover with a paper towel. Moisten the napkins several times during frying - thanks to this, the fruits will not dry out.
3. Cover the dish with a lid and fry for 30 minutes on medium heat. It is recommended to shake the nuts periodically without opening the lid.
4. Serve the dish, salt or sprinkle with sugar - as you like.

Those who think that fried fruits are too dry can boil them with milk - the combination is simply excellent! For this you need:

1. Peel the toasted nuts from the film, pour in milk so that the liquid covers them 2 cm higher.
2. Add a couple of tablespoons of honey, a cinnamon stick.
3. Let the dish simmer until the main ingredient is tender. Before sending the treats to the fire, you can add more cedar cake - this will make the taste of the dessert even more interesting.

How to cook chestnuts in the oven

You can also bake an exotic nut using an oven - the process is even easier than frying in a pan. A known way to cook chestnuts in the oven is as follows:

1. Preheat the oven.
2. Make incisions in each fruit.
3. Put the workpiece in one layer on a baking sheet, leave to bake for 35 minutes.
4. Open the oven and serve the treat. From a part of an exotic nut, you can also prepare, for example, a salad: add vegetables and hard pasta to the peeled fruits, and then it is recommended to mix this whole mass with a sauce of olive oil and lemon juice.

This method is quick and safe, if you cut or pierce the food with a fork before laying it in, this will allow steam to escape and avoid “explosion”. It's easy to cook chestnuts in the microwave:

1. Place the fruits in a shallow but wide microwave-safe plate.
2. Salt the product a little, add 3 tablespoons of hot water. Frying this way is unrealistic, but the nuts can be steamed for easy cleaning.
3. Cover the dishes with a lid (not a glass plate) or plastic wrap, leave the dish for 8 minutes, making the power of the technique maximum.
4. Try one thing, then either continue the process, or serve the treat to the table, pouring your favorite sauce onto a plate.

How to cook chestnuts at home - chef's recommendations

A healthy and containing many vitamins and protein product to the liking of many. However, not everyone knows how to cook chestnuts, and so that you enjoy this snack at home and not in a restaurant, follow these recommendations:

1. Before you cook the chestnuts in a pan, they must all be cut so that they will not "jump out" when heated.
2. You need to put raw ingredients in the pan in one layer, while the dishes should not be on the stove for a long time, otherwise the nuts will turn out to be too hard and tough.
3. You need to peel off the peel as soon as the product is cooked, otherwise it will be much more difficult to do it later.
4. If you expect to store edible chestnuts, then know that fresh fruits can be kept in a cool place for literally several days, otherwise they will become dry and lose their shine. Baked, boiled, or roasted nuts will last longer if stored in the freezer.

It is impossible to pass by the delicate aroma emanating from the chestnut braziers in the squares of European cities. The sweetish, warm flesh resembles a baked potato with a nutty flavor. You can also feel the Christmas spirit of old Europe at home. To do this, try frying the chestnuts in a skillet.

Eat ready-made fruits immediately after cooking, their taste is especially pleasant while they are still warm. Chestnuts are packed with nutrients, fiber, and vitamins. Unlike other nuts, they are much less fat, which makes them equally healthy due to their richness in minerals. Eat chestnuts as a separate dish or as a garnish for meat and poultry. These sweet nuts can be washed down with red wine or mulled wine; children will love their combination with hot chocolate.