Today we will tell you how to roast chestnuts at home. Of course, those chestnuts that grow in your city play only a decorative role. Another thing is the edible chestnut. This plant is a symbol of France, this exotic delicacy can be used to prepare royal dishes - both sweet and first and second. We will present some of them below.

You need a European (otherwise called a sowing) chestnut. How to choose chestnuts for roasting? Suitable for food, the fruits are quite dense, and their shells are shiny. The best edible chestnuts are wrinkled and have a smooth skin. They look like this. See those soft needles?

How to roast chestnuts at home in a pan?

1. We make shallow cuts. Then you need to pour a third of a glass of water into the pan. Stew them for half an hour under the lid. Ready chestnuts are soft, this can be checked by simply pressing.

2. In the microwave, you can hold edible chestnuts for five minutes at maximum power. In the microwave container, you must also add a little salted water.

Here's how to roast chestnuts in a pan. By the way, special frying pans with holes are sold in France, but you can use your regular non-stick frying pan.

How to cook chestnuts in the oven?

1. We make deeper cuts than for frying in a pan.

2 . The oven before you put the chestnuts in there, you need to warm it up well.

3 . Keep the chestnuts in the oven for about 20 minutes. Over time, it is very important not to overdo it.

Now you know how to properly roast chestnuts so that they turn out to be very tasty. It is best to eat chestnuts while they are warm, they become tasteless when cold.

Raw chestnuts are best stored in a cool and dark place.

Other dishes from European chestnuts.

Chestnuts can be whipped in a blender with warm milk. This is delicious. Especially in the form of a sauce for dishes - very gentle, giving an excellent taste. Such a product is versatile, you can even add ready-made chestnut puree to ice cream.

Desserts from chestnuts.

Chestnuts make delicious mousses. They combine beauty and utility. For example, you can make orange and pistachio mousse. You need to whip the cream, hold the chestnuts in a pan for 3 minutes, naturally, peeling them by making cuts, as described above when we described how to roast chestnuts. Then they are crushed in a blender, mixed with cream. Mousse is put in the refrigerator for half an hour. After that, the juice is squeezed out of the orange, and the zest is finely chopped and all this is introduced into the chilled mousse. Finally, finely chop the pistachios and add to the mousse as well.

For us, this is still an exotic dish. But chestnuts are already starting to appear in supermarkets. So it will not be superfluous for every housewife to know how to roast chestnuts at home.

Harvest chestnuts in autumn. They are a storehouse of vitamins A and C, zinc, folic acid and other substances that are especially well preserved if chestnuts are eaten raw. You just need to remove the skin and film from them. In France, they are often eaten like this, straight from the tree. The taste of raw chestnut will remind you of a nut. Useful properties of this product are lost during long-term storage. If you are trying to lose weight, you can not worry about your weight and eat chestnut fruits in any quantity, because they contain few calories.

Chestnut- a long-lived tree, the first fruits begin to be received from it 20 years after the tree is planted. In the CIS countries, you will hardly find an edible chestnut, except in the botanical garden.

In most European countries, roasted chestnuts are a street treat. Trees with these miraculous fruits grow just on the streets of cities, and therefore any tourist can try the dish at an affordable price. With us, you can taste the taste of this delicate nut only in a restaurant, or try to cook it yourself at home. But how to roast chestnuts?

The taste of roasted chestnuts is quite unusual and not everyone will like it, like any other product. But it is worth a try, especially since it is not only tasty, but also very useful. The main nuance is to learn how to cook them correctly.

So, we master the art of cooking roasted chestnuts.

Chestnut contains a large amount of vegetable protein, and eating this product is very beneficial. It is especially indispensable for adherents of a vegetarian diet, since it is able to fully provide the body with protein, which they exclude by refusing meat.

But, despite all the benefits of chestnut-nut, there are a number of contraindications to its use. Therefore, before eating it, you need to pay attention to your own health and evaluate all the pros and cons.

Positive qualities of chestnuts

So, the following features belong to the beneficial properties of the nut.

1. High energy value. Two, three chestnuts can be full, and not remember the feeling of hunger for half a day. A good product for those who like to eat at night or before bedtime. You can eat a chestnut before going to bed and sleep peacefully until the morning, full and not afraid for the figure. For people whose constant companions are fatigue and weakness, chestnuts are the best helper.
2. A great option to diversify the menu. This versatile nut can be roasted, boiled, baked and used in salads. If traditional cereals, pasta and potatoes as a side dish are simply tired, then chestnuts can be prepared as an addition to meat or fish.
3. It saturates the body with vitamins and microelements without sacrificing a thin waist. As noted above, chestnuts contain a lot of protein, in addition, they are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. In reasonable quantities, the product will not only benefit, but also help to saturate the body with everything you need during the diet. Athletes can use the product as a source of protein after training.
4. Generic drug. Chestnut-nut is useful for diseases of the respiratory organs, thrombophlebitis, varicose veins. A decoction of fruits, bark or leaves will help relieve acute symptoms of hemorrhoids and remove skin problems.
5. It is a source of women's health. For the fair sex, the product is recommended for mastitis, mastopathy.

Contraindications

In any case, if there are the slightest health problems, you should consult your doctor before introducing chestnuts into your diet.

• allergies;
• poor blood clotting;
• acute gastritis and gastric ulcer;
• violation of the menstrual cycle;
• pregnant women;
• low blood pressure;
• stool problems;
• completeness.

Before you understand how to properly roast chestnuts, you should learn how to choose a nut. There are fruits of edible and inedible plants. It must be remembered that it is impossible to eat any chestnut, since some nuts can even be poisonous.

Traditionally used in cooking:

• seed chestnut;
• American;
• city, or Japanese;
• the softest, or Chinese;
• chinkapin.

These varieties of chestnuts with a spiky shell are suitable for eating, the color of which must certainly be green. The fruits should be elongated, outwardly similar to an ordinary onion with a small tail.

But the bumpy, round fruits of horse chestnut are better not to even try to eat, because this is at least food poisoning.

How to roast chestnuts at home - the main ways

When the chestnuts are selected, you can start cooking them. Surely no one will be indifferent to the taste of roasted chestnuts. Let's find out how to roast chestnuts at home. There are several ways, but any of them must begin with a sorting of fruits.

First of all, it is necessary to throw out all damaged, dented, cracked or spoiled copies. Good nuts should be thoroughly washed with a sponge and poured into a container of water.

You can cook only nuts that have sunk in the water, those fruits that have surfaced, without pity, are sent to the trash can.

Selected, good fruits must be left in water for at least 15 minutes, then dried with a towel and pierced with a fork so that the shell does not burst during the frying process.

in a frying pan

Roasting chestnuts is easy. This results in a tasty and healthy dish.

1. A thin and small frying pan is not suitable for frying chestnuts. It is necessary to take a frying pan with thick sides and a bottom and quite roomy.
2. There should be enough oil so that it completely covers the beans, and it is better to put moistened napkins on top so that the chestnuts do not dry out.
3. When heated, chestnuts begin to explode, and a lid can keep these delicious nuts from popping out of the pan.
4. Roast them for about half an hour over medium heat.
5. In order not to overcook the chestnuts, from time to time it is necessary to shake them during the frying process, but under a closed lid. You can also stir occasionally with a spatula.
6. You can determine the readiness of a chestnut by simply pressing on it. Ready chestnut will be soft.
7. Spread the finished product on paper towels to remove excess fat.

In the oven

If you do not know how to roast chestnuts at home, choose the method of cooking them in the oven. Fried in this way, they retain all their useful substances and at the same time do not nourish excess oil.

To do this, you need to perform a number of actions.

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Cut or chop the sorted, washed and dried fruits.
3. Put the prepared product on an oven sheet greased with vegetable oil with the cut up.
4. Sprinkle the fruits with water and send to bake for no more than 20 minutes.
5. To prevent the chestnuts from burning, it is necessary to move them periodically.
6. When the fruit becomes soft, and the shell itself begins to crack easily, you can take out the chestnuts, cool and clean.

Chestnuts are ready! You can serve them as a side dish or on their own.

in the microwave

Another way to cook chestnuts quickly at home is to roast them in the microwave. The process of preparing these tender fruits is the same as in the previous two cases, but they will have to be prepared in two stages.

1. Put the prepared chestnuts in a deep dish for, cover with wet wipes, put in the microwave for 5 minutes at maximum power. Do not be lazy and stir the nuts every one and a half minutes.
2. At the second stage, add vegetable oil to the dish and bake for another 15 minutes, stirring at the same frequency.

In air grill

The recipe for cooking chestnuts in an air grill is similar to baking in an oven.

1. Sort the fruits, soak, dry and cut.
2. Put good nuts on a baking sheet of an air fryer.
3. Bake chestnuts for about half an hour at a temperature of 180 degrees.
4. There is one secret to baking chestnuts in this glass pan - the lower and upper grates must be covered with foil. Then the effect of a double boiler is formed and the nuts do not dry out and become hard.

How to peel roasted chestnuts?

You can peel a chestnut from the shell by simply pressing on it. The shell will begin to lag behind by itself and it is enough just to remove it.

It is necessary to start cleaning immediately after cooking the beans, within ten minutes, since it is much easier to remove the shell from warm nuts. As the chestnut cools, the shell becomes harder and harder to remove.

It is necessary to clean the nut not only from the upper peel, but also from the inner films and membranes.

To make it easier to peel the chestnuts, you can put them on a steam bath for a short time before roasting. They also wrap the finished product in a damp towel to make it easier to clean.

The Italians and the French use a special secret of cleaning ready-made chestnuts - they put them in a bag. This not only makes chestnuts easier to peel, but also stays warm longer.

In order to cook a dish with your own hands at home that will not be inferior to a restaurant one, you should pay attention to some useful recommendations.

1. Boil the chestnuts for a few minutes before frying.
2. Be sure to prick or cut each nut. So they will not shoot out of the pan and will be easier to clean.
3. Spread the beans in the cooking container in only one layer.
4. You do not need to roast the nuts for a long time so that they do not become hard.
5. You can store raw chestnuts for a short time, just a couple of days, in a cool place.
6. You can extend the shelf life of the finished dish by putting it in the freezer.

Conclusion

Chestnut is a wonderful delicacy that is very beneficial for the body and has great nutritional value. As it turns out, these tender beans are not that difficult to cook. At the same time, you can eat it as an independent dish, a side dish, add it to a salad or soup, and even serve it as a dessert.

Such an unusual product will diversify the daily menu and become an exotic highlight of the festive table. It will not only bring joy to your taste buds, but also quickly and permanently satisfy the feeling of hunger.

• 1 What chestnut can be roasted
• 2 Benefits and harms of roasted chestnuts
• 3 Chemical composition and calorie content
• 4 What do roasted chestnuts taste like?
• 5 How to roast chestnuts in a pan
• 6 Roasted chestnuts in the microwave
• 7 Cooking in the oven
• 8 Chestnuts roasted on charcoal

Roasted chestnuts are a rare dish today. In Russia, it is regularly prepared only by residents of the Krasnodar Territory, since it is in this region that edible fruits grow. How to roast chestnuts, and which ones are suitable for cooking, we will consider in our article.

What chestnut can be roasted

The most common chestnut is horse chestnut. A tree with such fruits can be found in various Russian regions. But these chestnuts are completely unsuitable for food. Moreover, they are forbidden to eat. It is better to use them for making various crafts with children or for decorating the interior.

The fruits of the following tree varieties are suitable for cooking and eating:

• sowing chestnut;
• Chinese;
• Japanese.

They can only be found in regions with a warm climate and high humidity. In Russia, this is the Krasnodar Territory. Also, such cultures grow in Azerbaijan, in the south of Ukraine, in Armenia, Spain, Italy, France. Such nuts do not store well and have a short shelf life, so they rarely find their way into stores in regions where they do not grow. Unless, in fresh-frozen and pickled form.

But for frying, fresh edible chestnuts are best suited.

The benefits and harms of roasted chestnuts

The unique composition of edible chestnuts makes them very useful for the human body, and their low calorie content (unlike other nuts) also allows you to add the product to the diet. Chestnuts are also ideal for vegetarian menus. The high content of vegetable protein in the composition allows them to some extent replace meat in the human diet.

Roasted chestnuts have the following beneficial effects on the body:

• improve the condition of blood vessels (it is especially useful to eat such nuts for varicose veins);
• reduce and normalize the level of "bad" cholesterol in the blood;
• normalize the functioning of the nervous system;
• heals and strengthens bone tissue, after injuries contribute to its natural recovery;
• strengthen immunity;
• normalize the work of the digestive tract;
• increase endurance.

But we must not forget that there is a very thin line between the benefits and harms of the product under discussion. Therefore, you can not abuse such a treat in a fried form. For example, very large portions of a dish can negatively affect the figure. Some losing weight, having learned that this type of nuts is one of the most low-calorie, begin to eat them in large quantities. In this case, any diet will be in vain.

Roasted chestnuts are prohibited for use by people with severe pathologies of the heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract and blood diseases.

With extreme caution, you need to introduce them into the diet of women in an "interesting" position, nursing mothers and young children.

Chemical composition and calorie content

As noted above, the calorie content of such fried nuts turned out to be small. It is only 247.3 kcal per 100 g of the finished product. Carbohydrates predominate in its composition - more than 50 g per 100 g of product.

Of the trace elements in the treat under discussion, it contains a large amount of potassium and iron, as well as calcium, phosphorus, many B vitamins (including folic acid), vitamins C, E, K, PP, A, beta-carotene.

Separately, it is worth noting fatty and amino acids. Among the first: omega-3 and omega-6, among the latter: leucine, lysine, arginine, valine and others.

What do roasted chestnuts taste like?

Properly selected and cooked roasted chestnuts have a pleasant taste. They resemble nuts prepared in the same way (most of all - peanuts) or seeds. The taste of the dish may vary slightly depending on the variety of chestnuts and the method of preparation.

Some gourmets note that charcoal-cooked fruits resemble fried potatoes with a sweetish aftertaste.

How to roast chestnuts in a pan

Ingredients:

• chestnut nuts - 1 kilo;
• any vegetable oil - ½ l.

Cooking:

1. Before frying chestnuts in a pan, the container must be filled almost to the top with high-quality refined vegetable oil.
2. When the fat warms up well, you can lower the fruits into it. It is very important to pre-cut each lightly or simply pierce with a fork.
3. Cover the parts of the chestnuts protruding from the oil with paper towels and moisten them periodically in fat so that the fruits do not dry out.
4. Cover the container with a lid. Cook the contents of the pan for half an hour on a fire slightly less than medium. Shake the nuts occasionally without removing the lid.

Serve the finished treat, sprinkled with salt or granulated sugar.

Roasted chestnuts in the microwave

To implement such a simple and quick method of cooking chestnuts, they must also be incised so that a hole appears for steam to escape.

Ingredients:

• chestnuts - 1 kg;
• hot water - 5 tbsp. l.;
• salt - to taste.

Cooking:

1. Put the prepared fruits in a wide dish with low sides, which is suitable for a microwave oven.
2. Pour hot water over the top. Salt fruits to taste.
3. Close the container with a lid. A glass plate is not suitable for this purpose! If a suitable cover is not at hand, you can take the film.
4. Cook the dish for 8 minutes at maximum power of the device.

Cooking in the oven

This method of cooking chestnuts allows you to make the treat less nutritious than when frying in a large amount of oil. And the fruits in the process are perfectly baked.

Ingredients:

• chestnuts - 1 - 2 kg.

Cooking:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 - 190 degrees.
2. Make an incision on each chestnut or pierce the fruit with a fork so that they do not explode during baking.
3. Lay the blanks on a baking sheet in one layer. Don't cover anything!
4. Send the chestnuts in this form to the oven for 35 - 40 minutes.
5. Serve the finished meal to the table.

Peeled chestnuts cooked in the oven can be used as the base of a salad. An ideal dressing for a snack with them will be olive oil with freshly squeezed citrus juice and spices.

Chestnuts roasted on charcoal

It is very convenient to cook chestnuts in nature. For example, on coals. But for this method of their preparation, you will need to arm yourself with a frying pan with a hole in the bottom.

Ingredients:

• raw chestnuts - 1 serving.

Cooking:

1. According to this recipe, chestnuts should be roasted correctly on pre-prepared coals. A special frying pan with a perforated bottom is installed on top of them.
2. Chestnuts are poured into the container. Be sure to lay them in just one layer, otherwise the fruits will remain damp for a very long time. In advance, their skin must be cut with a sharp knife to a white layer.
3. Fry chestnuts without oil in a leaky pan for 15 - 17 minutes. In the process, constantly shake the container so that the fruits do not burn.

The heat should not come close to the chestnuts. They are cooked by the heat of the coals, not by an open flame.

Regardless of which method of roasting chestnuts is chosen, the dish will be really tasty only immediately after preparation. When the delicacy cools down or even lies in the cool for several hours, its taste will deteriorate significantly. Therefore, it is worth trying a treat only freshly prepared.

The mention of chestnuts evokes a wide variety of associations in the majority, and not always gastronomic ones. In our country, edible chestnut nuts can be found only in the south, and in other places horse chestnut grows, unsuitable for food. Moreover, the fruits of the horse chestnut are poisonous, so you can only admire them. Edible chestnuts are sold in supermarkets - they are brought from Krasnodar, the Caucasus, Abkhazia and other places. If you have not tried this exquisite delicacy yet, learning how to cook it is quite easy if you know the secrets and subtleties. Chestnuts are delicious, nutritious and healthy!

How chestnuts became part of gastronomic culture

Chestnut trees were grown already in ancient Greece and Rome, but their fruits were considered more like a medicine than a delicacy. Chestnuts were fed to livestock. And only in the 15th century people tasted exotic nuts and realized that they deserve to be on the dining table. However, for a long time, chestnuts were the food of the poor, and only a little later they learned to cook gourmet dishes from them.

In Japan and China, the first mention of chestnuts appeared even earlier, long before the advent of rice, and they were cooked in a simple way - they were fried on a fire. Until now, almost half of the chestnuts in the world are eaten by the Chinese.

What are chestnuts

The most popular varieties of edible chestnuts are sowing, American, Chinese and Japanese. They have a green spiky plush and look like tiny hedgehogs, while the inedible horse chestnut has rarer needles. Brown nuts are hidden under the plush, and if they look like an onion with a small tail at a sharp end, then chestnuts are definitely edible - you are not mistaken. The horse chestnut tastes unpleasantly bitter, while the edible fruits are mealy and sweetish.

Raw chestnuts taste like unripe nuts, while cooked chestnuts taste like baked potatoes with a nutty twist. It is believed that the most delicious chestnut is Japanese. By satiety, nuts are close to potatoes, rice, bread and other carbohydrate foods. It is no coincidence that earlier this tree was called breadfruit. Due to the neutral taste, chestnut dishes can be cooked with a variety of products - they simply absorb the taste and aroma of the ingredients present, such as funchose, potatoes and rice.

How chestnuts are prepared

In Europe, there is a good tradition - to arrange picnics in the fall and bake chestnuts on the fire. This delicacy is also sold on the streets of cities, where the fruits are cooked in open braziers. They are cleaned and eaten hot with grape juice, beer or cider. The main thing is to pierce the shells of the nuts before roasting, otherwise the chestnuts will explode during cooking. Chestnuts are also boiled and steamed, added to soups, sauces, salads, casseroles and side dishes, stuffed with chicken and Christmas turkey. If you want to keep chestnuts until Christmas, you can boil, peel, and freeze them.

But the use of chestnut fruits in cooking is not limited to this. The nuts are used to make an amazing chestnut flour, which is used to make savory pies and dessert pastries. You don’t even need to add sugar to sweets, because the flour already has a sweetish aftertaste. Chestnut and jam, pancakes, biscuits, muffins and cookies are very pleasant. In France, chestnuts are used to prepare a delicious maroon glace delicacy, for which peeled chestnuts are boiled in sugar syrup and dried to a crispy state. No less tasty are chestnuts with chocolate sauce and chestnut puree from boiled nuts with sugar. They say they are real delicacies!

Both tasty and healthy

Chestnuts also have healing properties. They are rich in vitamins C, A, B, potassium, iron and calcium. Nuts reduce fever, treat coughs and clear the bronchi, relieve pain, have anti-inflammatory properties and stop diarrhea. Chestnuts are good for digestion and kidneys, while they produce a slight diuretic effect. Chestnuts are especially useful for hypertensive patients, as they normalize blood pressure and strengthen blood vessels.

If you have varicose veins, you can alleviate your condition with a chestnut diet. Arthritis, sciatica, gout - even such serious diseases can be treated if you more often feast on these useful gifts of nature.

Since chestnuts have a low concentration of fat (1 g per fruit), they can be eaten by anyone who is on a diet. This is what distinguishes this variety of nuts from its "brothers". If we also take into account that chestnut improves blood circulation, removes excess fluid from cells and removes swelling, this product becomes invaluable in the fight against cellulite. Tinctures for burning fat are made from chestnuts, and anti-cellulite creams are prepared on the basis of its oil.

It is better to give chestnuts to children from the age of four or five, as their delicate digestive system may not be able to cope with the digestion of this nut.

How to roast chestnuts

And now it's time to learn how to cook chestnuts at home. Sort through them and throw away dented, spoiled fruits and nuts with cracked shells. Pour the chestnuts into the water and take only sunken fruits for subsequent cooking - those that float up are not good for food, as they are most likely spoiled. Hold the remaining chestnuts in water for 15 minutes, dry with a towel and make cross-shaped cuts from the sharp edge so that the shell does not burst during frying and the chestnuts can then be easily peeled.

Fill a large frying pan with vegetable oil, dip the chestnuts in it and fry for half an hour over medium heat with the lid closed. Shake the pan occasionally without opening the lid. Peel chestnuts from the shell immediately, otherwise it will be problematic later. Serve the dish with sugar or salt - it's incredibly delicious!

Chestnuts baked in the oven

This cooking method is even easier, and you can see it in your own kitchen. First, sort and wash the chestnuts, removing those unsuitable for eating, and then make cuts.

Preheat the oven to 200°C on convection mode. Arrange the nuts in a cast iron or ovenproof dish cut side down and cook for 15 minutes, then stir in the chestnuts and bake for another 15 minutes. It all depends on which nuts you like - softer or roasted.

Cool the chestnuts, sprinkle them with salt and serve with beer or wine. You can cut the shelled nuts into pieces, add any vegetables, pasta or rice to them, and then season them with olive oil and lemon juice.

"Quick" chestnuts in the microwave

Prepare the chestnuts for roasting as described above, and be sure to make cuts. Put the nuts in a microwaveable dish, salt and add a little water - 4-5 tbsp. l. for 10 fruits. Mix well.

Turn on the most powerful mode and cook for exactly 8 minutes. If the chestnuts are too large and the microwave is not too powerful, the cooking time can be increased. Some gourmets claim that nuts in the microwave are not so tasty, but this is not for everybody. Try it and decide for yourself!

candied chestnuts

This is a very simple and extraordinarily tasty dessert that will surely take root in your family. Peel 0.5 kg of chestnuts and boil them in water until softened so that they do not lose their shape.

Boil the syrup from 2 cups of water and 0.5 kg of sugar - after boiling, it should cook for about 10 minutes. Dip the chestnuts into the syrup and cook for another half an hour. Let the dish brew a little and keep it on fire for another half hour. The chestnuts should become almost translucent. After that, add 50 ml of rum and transfer the dessert to a beautiful dish. Decorate the delicacy to your taste and serve to the amazed household and guests.

Chestnut flour pancakes with ricotta

Everyone loves pancakes, and chestnut pancakes are exotic for most. But what prevents you from appreciating their delicate nutty taste?

Prepare a dough of 2 eggs, 230 ml of milk and 100 g of chestnut flour, which can be added a little more if the eggs are large. The dough should be homogeneous, without lumps. Leave it on for 15 minutes.

Prepare the filling of ricotta and honey - the amount of ingredients to your taste. Someone likes it sweeter, and someone can add a little salt and herbs instead of honey.

Fry the pancakes in olive oil, put on each 2 tbsp. l. ricotta, fold in half and place on a serving platter. Top them with yogurt, honey, or whatever sauce you like. has a pleasant color and delicate texture, and even more so will not disappoint you when tasting.

Chestnut soup "Lick your fingers"

This one is a bit like potato, but it looks unusual and appetizing.

Boil the meat broth and allocate about 1 liter or a little more to the soup, taking into account the fact that some liquid will boil away during cooking. Dice carrots and onions and fry them in vegetable oil until golden brown. Throw 300 g of shelled chestnuts from the supermarket and vegetables into the broth, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until the chestnuts are soft, about 15 minutes.

Beat the soup with a blender, but leave a few chestnuts floating in it. So the dish will look much more interesting.

Season the chestnut puree soup with 2 tbsp. l. cream and serve with fresh herbs.

Draniki with chestnuts

You have probably never tasted such an unusual dish. Well, you have such a unique opportunity!

Make cuts on 7 chestnuts and boil them in water for 10 minutes.

Grate 3 raw peeled potatoes. Peel the chestnuts from the shell and also chop them on a grater, and then mix with the potatoes. Add 1 raw egg, minced garlic clove, salt, 2 tbsp. l. flour and a little finely chopped dill.

Mix the dough well and fry potato pancakes in vegetable oil on both sides. Serve with sour cream. The taste of such potato pancakes is very delicate, slightly nutty and original.

Chestnuts protect against depression and stress, soothe and give sound sleep. Treat yourself occasionally to these delicious nuts, without which something is missing in autumn. Chestnuts lift our spirits, and when we wash down these crunchy nuts with fragrant cider, it seems to us that life is inexpressibly beautiful, especially among the people closest to us.

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

Find chestnuts for sale in large chain supermarkets, in the section that sells nuts. The fruits should be brown in color, with a characteristic elongated tail, our regular chestnuts are not suitable for roasting and can be poisonous. If you decide to pick fruits from a tree, be careful, the leaves of edible chestnuts have an elongated shape and are attached to the branch with a long handle, unlike the spreading leaves we are used to from city alleys. The nut itself is also covered with a green, needle-like skin that is not eaten. Slash the hard skin of each nut in a criss-cross pattern or just poke a few holes. They are needed to release steam when frying. It is more convenient to use a saw blade for this, since their protective peel is quite strong and slippery. Be careful when working with a sharp knife. Heat a skillet over high heat and reduce it to medium. It is better to take dishes for frying with a thick bottom, high walls and a heavy lid. Place the skillet on the stove and heat the chestnuts for 5-10 minutes, depending on the quantity. Check the readiness of the dish by lifting the lid. In the cuts, the light pulp of the nut will appear and begin to emit a unique aroma. Large and dark fruits may be old, but this will not affect the taste. You can soften old fruits by adding a little hot water to the pan. If you plan to often roast chestnuts at home, it is recommended to purchase a special frying pan with holes in the bottom and a long handle, it is the best suited for cooking this dish both at home and on an open fire. There is no doubt that the aroma of chestnuts is revealed much better on an open fire than when cooked at home. You can also prepare chestnuts for eating in the microwave or oven. To do this, take special dishes for the microwave oven or a heat-resistant form for the oven. Sprinkle nuts on the bottom in one layer and pour a little hot water, close the lid. In the microwave, they will cook in 4-6 minutes at the highest power. An oven heated to 220 degrees will steam chestnuts in 15-20 minutes. After roasting, chestnuts need to be peeled. Do this with protective gloves or mittens as they can be quite hot inside.

Ready-made fruits should be consumed immediately after preparation, their taste is especially pleasant while they are still warm. Chestnuts contain a lot of nutrients, fiber and vitamins. Unlike other nuts, they have much less fat, which makes them no less useful due to their richness in minerals. Eat chestnuts as a separate dish, or by adding them as a side dish to meat and poultry. You can drink these sweet nuts with red wine or mulled wine, children will love their combination with hot chocolate.