Kokova Magazine

At this time of year we see a surge in the amount of chestnuts being offered for sale - in the supermarkets and ready roasted from a seller at the side of the road.

This recipe offers an alternative to roasted chestnuts by boiling them with cloves.

Ingredients

• 900g chestnuts
• 3 cloves
• 1 small onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 blade of mace (Blade Mace is the outer fibrous shell of the nutmeg)
• 600ml vegetable stock
• salt and cayenne pepper

Procedure

• Make a small cut into the top of each chestnut shell.
• Put in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil.
• Boil for 2 minutes before you drain, peel and skin the chestnuts while they are still hot - otherwise the skin may not come off.
• Stick the cloves into the onion and place into the pan with the chestnuts.
• Add all the remaining ingredients and enough boiling stock to cover.
• Simmer for about 1 hour then drain the stock and set it aside.
• Keep the chestnuts warm in a serving dish while you return the stock to the pan.
• Boil the stock to reduce by half and season to taste with the salt and pepper.
• Pour the stock over the chestnuts and serve.