While it may seem a little cliché at this point in the year, there are few things as satisfying as embracing an activity that belongs in a Norman Rockwell painting: roasting chestnuts. While for some, the lack of an “open fire”, as the beloved song describes, might diminish the holiday-joy they find in the activity, most will find that a common oven or toaster oven will produce first-class results.
Chestnuts are easy to come by during the holiday season and can be found at most grocery stores and markets. For the best results, select your chestnuts carefully; ensure that they have a smooth surface, are not too soft when pressure is put on them and they do not rattle inside the hull when shaken.
- To begin, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Take a paring knife or, if you do not have one, a sharp, fine blade and slice the small pointed end off of the bottom of each chestnut.
- Place each chestnut on a clean baking sheet and place them in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven and let the nuts cool for a few minutes until you can comfortably handle them with your fingers.
- Once cooled, insert the paring knife into the small hole you created at the bottom of the nut and begin to peel away the outer shell and papery skin around the golden nut at the centre
- Slice the peeled chestnut in two-four pieces and salt as desired.
- Eat. Repeat with remaining chestnut.
Note: If the chestnuts are rock hard once you have peeled them, then they are most likely dried out and shouldn’t be eaten. Simply discard and try again with another.
