How to roast chestnuts without oil. How to roast chestnuts at home

Autumn has crossed the middle of October. It's time to collect forest gifts. As a rule, it is at this time of the year that the first fresh chestnut fruits appear on the market and in stores. Do not miss the opportunity to please yourself and your friends with one of the world's most beloved "autumn" snacks. In our article today, we will talk about how to cook chestnuts in the oven. Baked chestnuts are a real delicacy available to everyone!

Roasted chestnuts... and more!

In Europe, chestnuts have been used in cooking for a very long time. If Russians, as a rule, know only baked chestnuts, then in France, for example, they are used to prepare all kinds of confectionery, and chestnut flour is used even as a coffee substitute.

Nutritionists also note the benefits of chestnuts, since it contains an order of magnitude less fat than almonds or walnuts, peanuts or hazelnuts.

The benefits of chestnut

The nutritional value of a traditional European chestnut, cooked on time at the rate of 100 grams is as follows:

In addition, chestnuts contain vitamins A, D, B12, C, B6, as well as calcium, iron and magnesium.

Roasted chestnuts will warm you up on an autumn evening and will be a great addition to a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Before roasting the chestnuts...

How to cook chestnuts in the oven? Before answering this question, you should understand the main rule - in no case should you send uncut chestnuts to the oven, otherwise you risk a series of explosions (yes, uncut chestnuts in the oven can explode).

The magazine of holiday recipes, the site is of the opinion that the procedure for preparing chestnuts should not be turned into a complex algorithm of meaningless actions like soaking in a solution with spices or using sunflower oil, which will only increase the calorie content of the dish, and hardly affect the taste ...

How to bake chestnuts in the oven

We bring to your attention the Mediterranean way of roasting chestnuts. Four to five servings of chestnuts will be obtained from one kilogram of fruit.

• Wash the chestnuts under running water.
• Make a cut on the round side of each chestnut. For this purpose, use a regular or small serrated knife so as not to accidentally cut yourself. By the way, there are special knives that are designed specifically for cooking chestnuts. But there is absolutely no need for such a purchase.
• The incision can be made in the shape of a cross - this will further simplify their cleaning after cooking.
• Arrange the chestnuts flat side down (cut side up) on a baking sheet. Now you need to sprinkle the chestnuts with clean water. Also, do not buy special accessories, but you can not neglect this procedure.
• The oven should be heated to 220 degrees. Place a baking sheet with chestnuts as close as possible to the heat source (if your oven design allows it).
• Chestnuts are baked for 20 minutes.

But you can also use a regular frying pan to cook roasted chestnuts. See how it's done.

How to make roasted chestnuts even tastier?

Now you know how baked chestnuts are cooked in the oven. In principle, the above recommendations will suffice. However, there is one more piece of advice. After 10 minutes in the oven, remove the baking sheet and flip each chestnut flat side up. This will allow the fruits to bake even better.

Baked chestnuts are relevant on the table in the autumn. The total preparation and cooking time for four servings (one kilogram of fruit) is no more than 30-40 minutes. But the pleasure of a hot treat will pay off with interest.

To prepare a delicious side dish, dessert, first courses or salads, you can use the fruits of the sowing or noble chestnut - they have a brown shiny peel and wrinkled kernels. Those who want to try this delicacy should find out how European chefs cook chestnuts.

How to eat chestnuts

Many housewives and cooks use this unique product not only as an independent dish, but also make soups, pilaf, etc. out of it. frying pans, because the taste of the exotic nut will fade as it cools.

How to Peel Chestnuts

To enjoy the taste of a nut, first prepare it properly: select fruits that are suitable for eating, fill with water - collect and discard those that float, and continue to work with the rest. Make cross-shaped cuts from the side of the sharp edge, using scissors or a fork, send them to fry. This action determines how easy it will be to peel the chestnuts later, and this is also where any recipe for roasted chestnuts begins.

What chestnuts can be eaten

In cooking, roasted chestnuts are a well-known dish that has an amazing taste. Before roasting nuts yourself, you need to know what they are. So, you can eat chestnuts that are covered with a spiky green shell. Elongated fruits are considered edible, resembling an onion in appearance and shape with a small tail at a sharp end - as in the photo.

It is worth noting that it is strictly forbidden to use lumpy round nuts (horse nuts) for cooking, because at best it threatens you with food poisoning. Such fruits grow on trees among large, spreading leaves in central Russia, so it’s better for residents of warm regions not to take risks and, if they wish, cook chestnuts, choose and buy them at the nearest store.

The benefits and harms of roasted chestnuts

If you want to try an exotic dish, then you need to figure out if you should eat it. Consider the benefits and harms of roasted chestnuts:

1. Of the positive qualities, special attention should be paid to the composition of fruits: vitamins (choline, beta-carotene, vitamins of groups A, B, C, E, K, PP, including ascorbic acid) and minerals (phosphorus, potassium, calcium, zinc, iron).
2. An important role in creating a positive characteristic of the product is played by its nutritional value and composition: water, ash, saturated fatty acids, mono- and disaccharides, dietary fiber.
3. Contraindications to the use of chestnuts include the fact that when fried they contain carbohydrates and a large amount of starch, and this is unacceptable for people who are prone to fullness.

Roasted chestnuts calories

One of the most popular edible varieties are sweet chestnuts. The calorie content of roasted chestnuts is about 180 calories per 100 grams of weight, so eating them in small quantities will not negatively affect your parameters. When roasted, the exotic nut contains a lot of carbohydrates and vegetable protein, which will especially appeal to those people who do not eat meat.

How to roast chestnuts at home

Such an unusual ingredient can be used for different dishes: first, second, desserts, but the beginning of each recipe is heat treatment. How are chestnuts roasted? There are several ways. You can roast chestnuts in a regular or special pan with holes, bake in the oven, boil. Check out these tips to help you understand how to roast chestnuts at home.

How to roast chestnuts in a pan

The presented method is a classic method for preparing edible fruits. Before frying chestnuts in a pan, they need to be soaked, and then already used, and taking only those that fell to the bottom of the bowl. Step-by-step instruction:

1. Pierce each fruit with a fork or cut.
2. Put the nuts in a frying pan filled with hot oil, cover with a paper towel on top. Moisten the napkins several times during frying - thanks to this, the fruits will not dry out.
3. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat. It is recommended to shake the nuts periodically without opening the lid.
4. Serve the dish, salted or sprinkled with sugar - as you wish.

Those who think that fried fruits are too dry can boil them with milk - the combination is simply excellent! For this you need:

1. Peel the already toasted nuts from the film, pour in the milk so that the liquid covers them 2 cm higher.
2. Add a couple of tablespoons of honey, a cinnamon stick.
3. Let the dish simmer until the main ingredient is soft. Before sending the delicacy to the fire, you can add more cedar cake - so the taste of the dessert will become even more interesting.

How to cook chestnuts in the oven

You can also bake an exotic nut using an oven - the process is even easier than frying in a pan. A well-known way to cook chestnuts in the oven is as follows:

1. Preheat oven.
2. Make cuts on each fruit.
3. Put the workpiece in one layer on a baking sheet, leave to bake for 35 minutes.
4. Open the oven and serve a treat. From a part of an exotic nut, you can also prepare, for example, a salad: add vegetables and durum pasta to the peeled fruits, and then it is recommended to mix this whole mass with a sauce of olive oil and lemon juice.

Chestnuts in the microwave

This method is quick and safe, if you cut or pierce the products with a fork before laying, this will allow steam to escape and avoid “explosion”. Cooking chestnuts in the microwave is easy:

1. Put the fruits in a shallow, but wide plate designed for the microwave.
2. Salt the product a little, pour in 3 tablespoons of hot water. Roasting this way is unrealistic, but nuts can be steamed for easy cleaning.
3. Close the dish with a lid (not a glass plate) or a film, leave the dish for 8 minutes, making the power of the technique maximum.
4. Try one thing, then either continue the process, or serve a delicacy to the table by pouring your favorite sauce on a plate.

A useful and containing many vitamins and protein product to the liking of many. However, not everyone knows how to cook chestnut, and in order for you to enjoy this appetizer at home, and not in a restaurant, follow these recommendations:

1. Before you cook chestnuts in a pan, they must all be cut - so they will not "jump out" when heated.
2. Put the raw ingredients in the pan in one layer, while the dishes should not be on the stove for a long time, otherwise the nuts will turn out to be too hard and tough.
3. You need to remove the peel as soon as the product is cooked, otherwise it will be much more difficult to do it later.
4. If you plan to store edible chestnuts, then know that fresh fruits can be kept in a cool place for just a few days, otherwise they will become dry and lose their luster. A baked, boiled, or roasted nut will last longer if stored in the freezer.

Video: How to roast chestnuts

Surely many have heard that in addition to the Eiffel Tower, numerous street vendors are the symbol of Paris. Indeed, right on the sidewalks there are miniature, and sometimes not very miniature braziers on which this simple delicacy is prepared.

Having tried it, many tourists ask themselves the question: “How to roast chestnuts at home? And how feasible is this? This can really be easily reproduced in your kitchen, having a gas or electric stove and a baking sheet or pan.

at home?

Before proceeding to the description of the process itself, let's talk about where to get raw materials for it. The fact is that the fruits of the growing in almost all regions of our country, except for the very horse chestnut, are not suitable for food. Yes, they are very beautiful - lacquered brown rounds, but they taste very bitter.

To do this, you need to go to the market or supermarket and purchase a completely different variety - edible trees. They even look different from the horse - much smaller, darker in color and one side is necessarily flat. Strictly speaking, they are not even chestnuts, since the tree on which they grow belongs to the beech family, but we will not go into botanical details now, since we need to eat them, not classify them.

How to roast chestnuts in a pan or on a baking sheet?

Before proceeding with the actual preparation of the dish, the fruits must be lowered into the water. In addition to the fact that dirt will be washed off from them, you can still reject spoiled chestnuts - they will simply pop up. They need to be thrown away, and the rest should be dried and pricked with a fork or cut with a knife. If this is not done, then during the cooking process, the water that the fruits are soaked in will boil and break the shell. That is, you get a series of miniature explosions - a kind of mini-cannonade in your kitchen, similar to the one that occurs when frying popcorn. But grains of corn are much smaller than chestnuts, so it is better not to bring them to such a state.

Another trick related to how to roast chestnuts at home is that the fruits laid on a baking sheet or pan must be covered with wet wipes. This will prevent them from drying out excessively during the cooking process and becoming hard. They will fry for about half an hour, and during this time you will need to replace the dried napkins with fresh ones a couple of times.

If you chose a skillet as a dish, then cover it with a lid, because, despite the cuts, some chestnuts can still explode, and you will have to collect them all over the kitchen. It is not necessary to cover the baking sheet, since these “jumps” will not be able to leave the oven.

The readiness of the fruit is determined simply - press the chestnut with your finger. If it's soft, then it's time to take it off the heat. Now you know how to roast chestnuts at home and you can enjoy this dish yourself and treat your loved ones without even being in Paris. And do not deny yourself the pleasure of trying raw fruits - they are also very tasty.

One of the favorite delicacies of the Parisians are hot chestnuts. They are prepared and sold right on the streets of the most romantic city in the world. Residents and guests of Paris buy them and eat from a bag, closing their eyes with pleasure. And then they ask the French how to roast chestnuts in order to pamper themselves more often when they return home.

These reddish-cinnamon fruits are good not only as an independent dish. They are also included in the recipe for many other dishes. But before we talk about how to cook chestnuts, let's talk about which ones you can eat.

After all, this name hides several different varieties of nuts that look similar to each other.

All of them are covered with a spiky green shell, under which shiny fruits of a characteristic shade are hidden. Here are just those that are edible, more elongated, shaped like an onion, at the sharp end they have a tiny tail. The tree on which they grow has long, toothed leaves attached to the branch with a cutting. You can cook chestnuts of this variety without any fear.

But the fruits of trees with large spreading leaves, somewhat reminiscent of maple leaves, are not worth eating - you can get poisoned. Their nuts are round, sometimes bumpy. And, unfortunately, it is they who grow in abundance in central Russia. So it is better for residents of this region to buy chestnuts in the store.

Method 1

Method 2

Method 3

Serve the peeled chestnuts hot, in a beautiful plate. Eat them with soft music or a good old French comedy, and enjoy the Parisian romance in your home.

There are legends about the taste of chestnuts. To some, their taste resembles a baked potato combined with a nut, others argue that the most delicious are those nuts that were collected in the fall, because they have so much sweetness! These fruits have been used in cooking for more than a century, and you can learn how to cook chestnuts from this article.

Many of us cannot even imagine what a pleasure it is to eat chestnuts. But in other countries they are served as an independent meal or used in the preparation of soups, side dishes and even desserts. If you have ventured into a culinary experiment with such an exotic nut, then we will show you how to cook it correctly. The main thing is to eat hot chestnuts, because when they cool down, they lose their unique taste.

The easiest way to prepare such fruits is simple frying in a pan. But before answering the question of how to roast chestnuts, it should be warned that before any method of processing them, the nuts must be soaked and only those that have fallen to the bottom of the container should be used.

Each fruit must be cut or pierced so that they do not explode during cooking.

1. Put the chestnuts in a pan with oil and cover them with a paper towel. So that the fruits do not dry out, the towel must be moistened during the frying process.
2. Fry the nuts under the lid for half an hour. It is recommended to periodically shake them right under the lid.
3. Sprinkle the finished nuts with salt or granulated sugar.

This is an even easier way to cook chestnuts. It is even easier than frying them in a pan.

Cooking method:

1. We lay out the chestnuts on a baking sheet, do not forget to pierce each fruit.
2. We put the mold in the oven for 40 minutes.
3. Serve fruits sweet or salty.

You can also roast chestnuts in the microwave, this is also an easy and safe way to cook them. True, this way they turn out not so much fried as steamed.

Cooking method:

1. We put the cut fruits in a wide container, sprinkle with salt and pour in three tablespoons of water (hot).
2. We close the dishes and put in the microwave for 8 - 10 minutes, setting the maximum power on the device.

Air grilled chestnuts

The air grill can also be used to cook chestnuts. To do this, take a baking sheet from the appliance, spread the chopped nuts on it and bake them for 20 to 30 minutes at a temperature of 180 ° C. The lower and upper grills can be covered with foil - so the fruits will turn out softer.

Once you master the basic cooking recipes, you can safely take on other, more interesting recipes. For example, you can cook soup from chestnuts, bake them with meat or please your loved ones with an original dessert.

How to cook chestnuts

There are two ways to cook chestnuts.

1. The first is that the incised fruits are lowered into boiling water, boiled for five minutes, then removed and peeled from the film and shell. It is in these parts that bitterness is concentrated, and if they are not removed, then the dish will be spoiled. Next, pour the peeled nuts with clean water and cook for 15 minutes. Boiled chestnuts can be served drizzled with oil, as a side dish, or used in salads. Also, a decoction of chestnuts can be used as a basis for cooking first courses.
2. The second method differs in that at first the fruits are baked in the oven and as soon as the shell bursts, they are removed, cleaned and then, like the first method, boiled for 15 minutes.
3. You can cook an exotic nut deliciously in milk. To do this, put 300 g of already peeled nuts in a saucepan, pour a glass of milk and cook the fruits for 40 minutes. At this time, mix a spoonful of flour with two tablespoons of ghee, add salt and sugar to taste. Add the sauce to the chestnuts, stir and remove from heat.

Chestnut dessert with honey

Such a phrase as “chestnuts with honey” will sound somehow strange to someone, but in fact, such ingredients make a delicious autumn dessert. The finished dish combines several flavors at once - sour, bitter and sweet. In many countries, this delicacy is served with green tea for breakfast or afternoon tea.

Ingredients:

• 230 g chestnuts;
• 180 g feijoa;
• half a lemon;
• honey to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Put the pierced nuts in a dry frying pan and fry for 15 minutes.
2. Remove the shell and cut the fruit in half.
3. We cut the peeled feijoa into thin plastics and put them on the chestnuts.
4. Pour the finished dish with citrus juice and honey.

Cooking chestnut puree

You can cook chestnuts in the form of puree or cream.

Puree is ideal for soups, pastries and other desserts. The cream is used to make mousses, ice cream and cakes.

The cream can also be mixed with yogurt, cottage cheese, muesli or just eat it with toast.

Puree Ingredients:

• 230 g chestnuts;
• a spoonful of sugar;
• 130 ml of milk;
• a spoonful of melted butter.

Cooking method:

1. We put already peeled chestnuts in a saucepan and cook in milk for 40 minutes.
2. We wipe the boiled fruits through a sieve together with the milk broth and return to the stove.
3. We put pieces of butter, add sugar, mix, warm all the ingredients well and remove from heat.

If you plan to use chestnut puree as a side dish for meat or poultry, then use salt instead of sweetener, and also add onion or celery stalk to the recipe.

Cream Ingredients:

• 1 kg of chestnuts;
• 160 ml cream;
• 160 g of sugar;
• 60 g melted butter;
• vanilla pod.

Cooking method:

1. First you need to make mashed nuts. To do this, cook the fruits for 10 minutes, then drain the hot water and pour cold water. After five minutes, we take out the nuts, remove the peel and grind them with a blender or wipe through a sieve.
2. Now you need to cook a sweet syrup from water, sugar and vanilla pod. It should take no more than three minutes to prepare the syrup.
3. Pour the finished syrup into the chestnut puree, put the mixture on the fire and cook until it thickens for about 15 minutes. This cream can already be used to make desserts or spread it on toast as jam.

If you add cream instead of water, then it will already turn out to be buttercream. To prepare it, we also prepare mashed potatoes, mix it with warmed cream, sugar and vanilla. Cook the cream until thickened for 15 minutes, then put pieces of butter in it, mix and remove from heat. If the cream is too thick, then dilute it with cream.

Turkish traditional recipe

At the height of winter, the streets of Turkish cities are filled with the aroma of roasted chestnuts. Turkish residents offer their guests to try a variety of dishes from such an exotic nut. One of the special delicacies is Kestane Sekeri - a candied edible chestnut, the recipe of which you will learn right now.

Ingredients:

• a kilo of chestnuts;
• a kilo of granulated sugar;
• 450 g glucose;
• vanillin to taste.

Cooking method:

1. First of all, peel the fruit. To do this, put them in boiling water for three minutes, then remove the shell and cook in clean water for 15 minutes.
2. Pour water into a saucepan, pour sugar and glucose, put on fire.
3. As soon as the sweet solution thickens, put chestnuts in it and after the syrup with nuts boils, turn it off, cover it and leave it warm all night.
4. The next day, the process must be repeated and, after cooling again, add vanilla.
5. Now it remains to put the nuts on a wire rack and dry until a matte color is formed.

How to clean chestnuts

By tradition, chestnuts are roasted on coals, the peel bursts from the heat and then is easily removed.

At home, you can use more affordable methods for cleaning them.

1. Chestnuts can be fried in a pan, the main thing is not to forget to cut them. On heated fruits, the peel bursts with a simple pressure. A film will remain on the core, it can be left or easily removed with a knife.
2. We cut the shell and lower it into boiling water for 10 minutes. As a result of such heat treatment, the shell is removed together with the film.
3. You can peel chestnuts in another way - in the oven. To do this, we send a baking sheet with nuts for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 ° C for 10 minutes. As a result of heating, the peel becomes soft and easy to clean.
4. The microwave will also help clean the nuts. We just put the fruits in a special dish with a lid and set it to normal mode for 30 minutes.
5. And the last method involves the use of a freezer. Chestnuts need to be frozen, and then dipped in boiling water for a few minutes.

At the end of the article, I would like to say that not the chestnut that we often meet on our streets is used for cooking. This is a special species of the Beech family - the sowing chestnut Castanea sativa. The homeland of the edible chestnut is Asia Minor, as well as Southern and Eastern Europe. Today, this kind of deciduous tree grows on the southern shores of the Crimea, in the Caucasus, in Dagestan and Moldova.