Roasted chestnuts: tips on how to prepare and pair them.

Someone said baked chestnuts? With their intoxicating aroma, chestnuts are the true protagonists of the autumn season and, if baked, you can be sure of having a good snack or a truly tasty, original, and always appreciated side dish. Chestnuts are a very light food, free from fats and sugars, but high in starch.
There are few ingredients as versatile in the kitchen: chestnuts can indeed be used for making delicious appetizers and starters as well as for decorating main courses and desserts. The nice thing about these fruits? You don’t need many seasonings to make them good, because they are naturally so!

Baked chestnuts are very easy to make. After an initial half-hour soak, the preparation will be really quick. Following our instructions, soft and golden chestnuts are guaranteed!

How to prepare baked chestnuts?

To prepare baked chestnuts, the first thing to do is soak them in a bowl of cold water for about an hour (half an hour if you are short on time), making sure that all the fruits are covered with water. Once done, drain the water and dry the chestnuts by laying them on a clean cloth to absorb the excess water. Then comes the slightly trickier part: make horizontal cuts on each chestnut about 2 to 3 cm long. This is a very important step that cannot be skipped: it is this cut that prevents the fruit from exploding due to the heat. At this point, you can arrange the chestnuts on a baking tray and cook them in static oven at 250 °C for 35/40 minutes or in a convection oven for 30 minutes at about 230 °C, turning the fruits occasionally to ensure even cooking. Here are your baked chestnuts, ready! Let them cool for a few minutes by wrapping them in a dry and clean cotton cloth, then peel and enjoy. You’ll see, you’ll want more...

How to pair baked chestnuts?

As mentioned earlier, baked chestnuts, once prepared, are really versatile. Besides being delicious on their own as a tasty and healthy snack, they are perfect for decorating gourmet desserts and preparing sides for main courses. Not surprisingly, the famous American Thanksgiving turkey is traditionally prepared with a chestnut-based stuffing. However, there are occasions when these wonderful fruits from our mountains are best appreciated.

The chestnut is a typical autumn fruit that encapsulates all the aromas of the woods. It is therefore ideal at the end of a meal to wrap up beautifully, especially if the other dishes remain in the theme of "autumn" and feature typical seasonal products, such as pumpkin, mushrooms, as well as cheeses and game. If you love jams, then chestnuts can help you create a delicious appetizer or starter. It is well known that chestnut jam pairs phenomenally with cheese.
You can also use them to prepare soups, especially those based on legumes, cereals, and aromatic herbs. If you prefer a more substantial first course, you might consider a nice pumpkin and baked chestnut risotto, a restorative dish ideal for the colder evenings.

Of course, the perfect use for baked chestnuts is within desserts. There are many desserts that include this ingredient, so you have plenty of choices. In particular, these autumn fruits pair well with dried fruit, raisins, and are great in more homemade fillings, where you can decide whether to use baked or boiled chestnuts. What changes is the final texture: in the first case, they will be more aromatic and have a stronger flavor, while in the latter, they will be softer, sweeter, and more delicate. This rule applies, obviously, whether you are preparing a filling for a savory dish or a filling for a dessert.

What to drink with baked chestnuts?

Baked chestnuts are the best way to conclude a good meal and, if paired with a good wine, can really determine the fate of a lunch. Obviously, the choice of wine also depends on how you plan to use the baked chestnuts. If eaten as is to close a meal or as an appetizer, baked chestnuts pair wonderfully with a lively red wine, such as a Schiava from Trentino. The discussion becomes a little different if the chestnuts are used to prepare a first course or a dessert. In the case of savory preparations, a good red wine rich in tannins, such as Lambrusco, remains the ideal choice here. If, on the other hand, the baked chestnuts are the star of your dessert, then it is better to choose a wine suitable for dessert pairing. In this case, a good not too sweet passito can really make a difference.

And if the chestnuts are for a snack? Well, then in this case we cannot help but refer to the culinary tradition of Trentino and enjoy a delicious Hot Apple Wine, also known as Apfelglühwein, suitable for the whole family, which you can later enhance with rum or brandy for a slightly stronger version.

One thing is for sure: with baked chestnuts you will win over all your guests, both adults and children.
Take a look at our portal to choose the best ingredients to prepare and accompany your chestnuts… you’ll see, they will make a difference!