Note: This post was edited to change the name of the chestnuts to "chestnuts", because in my supreme ignorance (and poor research skills) I had settled with their "Brazilian name": Portuguese nuts. Thanks to the generosity of some readers (see comments below) I've increased my cooking vocabulary, and even learned that chestnuts are called "conkers" in Dublin. How cool is that? heh (Thanks Kristi! :-). I was also pointed to this English-Portuguese Cooking Glossary that you can download in PDF. Most useful!
Yeah, yeah. I know I said I'd re-post the posterous' stuff in sequence, but I changed my mind. So, here's the thing, I have this great twitter friend, who shared with me this awesome apple chutney recipe. I had promised to try it, but since I'm much more of a lazy cooker than a lazy writer, I've decided to share a very simple recipe that she, and you, might find interesting.
This is a family tradition, but strangely enough only my mother cooks it in this particular way. [Or so I thought. See comment below in Portuguese, which you can translate right at the end of this page] Every time a friend would come by and try it there was a different reaction, and no one had ever heard about it. I'm talking about these nuts:
I was told the chestnuts go wonderfully well with meat, cooked salted with laurel leaves, and roasted in open fire, but we do it differently, and at least for us it's a Christmas tradition. I'd love to hear your opinion on this one, if you care to share. :-)
Sweet Chestnuts
Ingredients:
500g of washed chestnuts
2 tea spoons of sugar (can be black sugar too, which I personally prefer)
2 tea spoons of fennel seed
1/2 tea spoon of salt
Directions:
1. With a sharp knive, make a vertical slice on each nut's skin, in the same direction of its fibers. Like this:
2. Put the chestnuts in a pan and cover them with water, topping them by about two inches. Add the spices: sugar, salt and fennel seed.
Note: The extra water may be important on conserving the nuts and preventing from drying them out.
3. Cover the pan and cook the chestnuts for about 30 min. The cooking time depends on how fresh the nuts are, so you might want to start checking after 20 mins.
Note: By using a pressure pan you'll reduce the cooking time and get no difference in final result, which should look much like this:
You see how the slice has opened, much like... err, a broken heart? Well, that's when you know the chestnuts are cooked, but I suggest you also try one to make sure. And since the recipe makes a large portion, don't throw away the remaining brownish water. (It's normal that the water turns brown, so if you had the nuts washed before cooking, no worries about the apearance, ok?)
The Sweet Chestnuts are better served moisten and warm, and the cooking water helps conserving the flavor. Enjoy!
