How to roast sweet chestnuts
Ingredients
- Sweet chestnuts
Method
- STEP 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/gas mark 6. Remove the nuts from the spiky shells and prepare them for cooking. Nuts can give a little if you squeeze them, but discard any that are soft. Also discard any nuts that have holes in them.
Place a nut flat-side down on a chopping board. With a serrated knife, carefully make a shallow incision all the way across the rounded surface. Do this on all the nuts. The slit should be deep enough to have cut through the skin – its purpose is to let the steam out when the nuts are in the oven, which stops them exploding.
- STEP 2
Put the chestnuts cut-side up on a baking tray and roast them for 15–20 minutes, or until the skin begins to come away from the nut.
Peel the chestnuts as soon as you can once they’re out of the oven, as they’re easiest to peel when still warm. Use oven gloves or a cloth to protect your hands from the heat.
- STEP 3
Serve the chestnuts as they are, or use them in salads, soups or pies. The cooked, peeled chestnuts can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days, or frozen for up to three months.
