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

You can prepare cooked chestnuts simply using a saucepan or a small pot, as they take up little space and in a moment the water will begin to boil. Or you can make them even faster in the slow cooker . It is undoubtedly an excellent option to gain even more time.

Making cooked chestnuts has very few secrets, since it is a simple and quick cooking . But I leave you an easy step by step and some tricks and ideas so that they stay on point. And delicious!

If you haven't cooked chestnuts, you should. I think you will be surprised by the result: they are tender and tasty, with their characteristic chestnut flavor. If you cook them well, which costs very little, they are super quick to peel and are a great way to enjoy autumn and recharge your batteries.

Claudia&Julia linen bread basket and Revol porcelain casserole

Ingredients

Chestnuts (quantity to choice of each one)
a tablespoon of salt
Anise (optional, although it is a most popular addition)
A bay leaf (optional)

Preparation (in a conventional pot and in a quick pot)

Clean the chestnuts, passing them through water in a strainer.
Give them a deep cut*. It is not necessary to make a cross, it can simply be a cross section, but it is necessary to cut the skin of the chestnut so that the water can penetrate.
If you cook the chestnuts in the traditional way: Put enough water in a saucepan or a medium-sized pot to cover the chestnuts you want to cook. Put the water to heat and, when it is hot, apply a tablespoon of salt and half a teaspoon of anise (also, if you want, the bay leaf). Add the chestnuts and let them cook for 35-40 minutes over low heat (just enough to keep them boiling when it has already started to boil). After that time, remove from the heat and strain the water.

If you cook the chestnuts in a pressure cooker: put water in the pressure cooker (which can be a couple of centimeters higher than the height that the chestnuts are going to occupy), turn on the heat and, when the water starts to be hot, 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 on fire 7-8 minutes and stop the fire. 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 at the table when they are still somewhat hot, at dessert time, and each diner peels the ones they are going to take, as it has always been done.

Opinel chestnut knife and WMF Perfect pressure cooker

Grades

Choose your chestnuts wisely: ideally they should be hard and shiny brown.
That they are all of a similar size, to ensure even cooking.
*Undoubtedly, to make those cuts to the chestnuts, there is no better knife than the special one for garlic and chestnuts from Opinel -its curved and sharp point and the shape of the blade, it cuts, allows you to take the chestnut in such a way that you can exercise those cuts with great dexterity.
The cooking time will vary a few minutes depending on whether the chestnuts are larger or smaller.
When peeling chestnuts it is important to remove both the outer shell and the inner layer of skin, the bitter ones.
Once cooked and peeled, try them also dipped in a sugar glaze... Or they will be a guaranteed success if you serve them at coffee time dipped in chocolate fondant! A bite of chestnuts and chocolate is an ideal accompaniment to close any family gathering.

Claudia Ferrer

Tags: consejos Consejos e ideas Entrantes olla rápida postres recetas

Older Post Back to Claudia&Julia's blog Newer Post

Comments

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 :)