Roasting and Preserving Fresh Chestnuts

It's chestnut season in Indiana and once again, my friend Joe has a bumper crop. Last year when he gave me a basket full of these culinary treasures, I boiled them, shelled them, and made a chestnut puree which I froze and later used to make an Italian sweet cream for one of our Thanksgiving desserts. But this year, I think I'm going to make a chestnut dressing for Thanksgiving so I needed to find a way to preserve the whole chestnuts. The best way to do that, according to my friend Ann, is to oven roast them and then individually freeze them.

So last Sunday afternoon, I took some time to roast the chestnuts Joe had given me the day before. I had about 100 chestnuts and the whole process took less than an hour. Ann's method was easy and produced a sweet chestnut meat that will be wonderful in the dressing. My only problem? Trying not to eat all those toasty little chestnuts as I was peeling them.

If you can get your hands on some fresh chestnuts right now, try Ann's roasting technique. It's in the Fall Recipes Section on this site. I have to admit that the oven method is not quite as romantic as roasting them "on an open fire", but I can guarantee you they're just as delicious.

Photo: Oven roasted chestnuts

Comments

[victoria wesseleria]

Brenda--You can certainly make a garland out of them while they are still in their shell. But they are very thick and tough--I cannot imagine what you would use to thread it with!

[Brenda Millard]

I want to use them to make chestnut garlands with. Is that even possible? They are so pretty and there is a local tree that has them falling all over the ground. The neighbors must think I'm nuts scooping them up and bringing them home because I did get some curious looks from them. I've never had roasted chestnuts, so I'll look for a recipe for that also. As of yesterday and today, I appear to be the only one collecting these.
Thank you,
Brenda

[LGG staff]

Sounds delish!

How can I make sure not to burn the chestnuts in the oven? I always get a few throwaways ...