How to cook chestnuts

Boiling chestnuts, not roasting them, is one of the easiest things you can do if you decide to cook chestnuts and the result is delicious. I fondly remember how at home, when I was little, at dessert time on Sundays in autumn they would bring two trays to the table: one with chestnuts roasted on the fire, and the other with boiled chestnuts. The truth is that it was difficult to decide which ones were tastier. They always disappeared!

You can prepare cooked chestnuts using just a saucepan or small pot, as they take up little space and the water will start to boil in no time. Or you can make them even more quickly in the pressure cooker . This is undoubtedly an excellent option to save even more time.

There are very few secrets to making cooked chestnuts, as it is a simple and quick way to cook them . But I'll leave you with an easy step-by-step guide and some tricks and ideas to make them perfect. And delicious!

If you haven't cooked chestnuts yet, you should do so. I think you'll be surprised by the result: they are tender and tasty, with their characteristic chestnut flavour. If you cook them well, which is very easy, they are super quick to peel and are a great way to enjoy autumn and recharge your energy.

Claudia&Julia linen bread basket and Revol porcelain casserole dish

Ingredients

Chestnuts (quantity of each person's choice)
A spoonful of salt
Anise (optional, although it is a very popular addition)
A bay leaf (optional)

Preparation (in conventional pot and in pressure cooker)

Clean the chestnuts by passing them under water in a strainer.
Make a deep cut*. You don't need to make a cross, you can just make a cross cut, but you do need to cut the skin of the chestnut so that the water can penetrate.
If you cook chestnuts in the traditional way: Put enough water in a saucepan or medium-sized pot to cover the chestnuts you want to cook thoroughly. Put the water on to heat and, when it is hot, add a tablespoon of salt and half a teaspoon of anise (also, if you want, the bay leaf). Put the chestnuts in and let them cook for 35-40 minutes on a low heat (just enough to keep them simmering once they have started to boil). After that time, remove from the heat and strain the water.

If you cook the chestnuts in a pressure cooker: add water (a few centimetres higher than the chestnuts will be), turn on the heat and, when the water starts to heat up, add a tablespoon of salt and half a teaspoon of anise (and the bay leaf, optionally). Close the pressure cooker and put it on medium heat until the two pressure rings come out. Keep it on the heat for 7-8 minutes and then turn off the heat. Wait for it to lose pressure on its own and, when you can open it, open the pot and strain the chestnuts.

4. Wait a few minutes until they have lost heat, and you can peel them with the help of a knife, or serve them on the table while they are still somewhat warm, at dessert time, and have each diner peel the ones they are going to eat, as has always been done.

Opinel chestnut knife and WMF Perfect pressure cooker

Grades

Choose your chestnuts carefully: ideally they should be hard and shiny brown.
They should all be of a similar size to ensure even cooking.
*There is no better knife than the Opinel garlic and chestnut knife for making these cuts in chestnuts - its sharp, curved tip and short blade shape allow you to hold the chestnut in such a way that you can make these cuts with great skill.
Cooking time will vary by a few minutes depending on how large or small the chestnuts are.
When peeling chestnuts, it is important to remove both the outer shell and the inner layer of skin, which makes them bitter.
Once cooked and peeled, try them dipped in a sugar glaze... Or they're sure to be a hit if you serve them at coffee time dipped in fondant chocolate ! A bite of chestnut and chocolate is an ideal accompaniment to close any family gathering.

Claudia Ferrer

Tags: acompañamiento consejos Consejos e ideas Entrantes olla rápida postres receta fácil recetas

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Comments

Henar Hidalgo Riol said:

Cuando las castañas se asan hay que hacerlas un corte porque de lo contrario explotan. Cuando las castañas se cuecen todo es tan rápido y sencillo como echarlas a cocer enteras, sin corte.
Saludos y muchas gracias.

Teresa said:

Hola!! El anís es en especia o licor? Gracias.

Cestadefruta.es said:

Que ricas por favor, con anís están súper buenas

Claudia said:

Hola Montse,

Los 7-8 minutos son a contar a partir de que los anillos de presión ya han subido. Siendo así, recuerda siempre haber bajado el fuego cuando los anillos han subido -cuando la presión en la olla ya es alta, solo debes MANTENER esa presión, y para ello es conveniente abajar el fuego, simplemente para que se mantengan allí, pero nunca con el fuego al máximo cuando la presión ya ha alcanzado su punto óptimo.
Cualquier duda, escríbenos a tienda@claudiaandjulia.com. Gracias!

montse said:

les castanyes fetes amb olla a pressió, no tinc clar si els 7-8 minuts són sense abaixar el foc o és a màxima potència.

Claudia said:

Qué alegría Mireia, me alegro mucho!! La verdad es que sí están ricas, mucho, un vicio para toda la family! Saludos, Claudia

Mireia said:

¡Pero qué ricas! No las había probado nunca así, y la verdad es que estoy como dices tú, ya no sé si las prefiero asadas o cocidas! Muchas gracias por la receta :)