In a desperate attempt to accomplish every kitschy Christmas tradition that exists – a couple of weeks ago I forced my sister to help me track down chestnuts. I was determined that even if I couldn’t roast them on an “open fire” as the song suggests – I was darn well going to roast them and hear them pop. Unfortunately, other things got in the way and the chestnuts, tragically, went unpoppped.
But I wasn’t going to let them rot in my mom’s pantry so I brought them back to my place and set out on a journey to discover how to properly cook chestnuts and this is what I discovered.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wipe down chestnuts with a damp cloth and lay them on a tray, flat side down.
2. Cut an X into the tops of the chestnuts.
3. Cook the chestnuts in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
4. When they’re done most of them will have popped open at the X.
5. Once they have cooled a touch, peel the shells off the chestnuts. Some of them might be dark and hard – those ones are bad and can be discarded. But the ones that comes out a light brown colour are ready to be eaten!
And were they worth all the work?
I actually didn’t find them to be too much work at all! You just slice, bake and then plop yourself in front of the tv and peel for a couple of minutes. Definitely worth it!