Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, everyone knows this classic Nat King Cole Christmas carol (one of my personal favs – The Christmas Song!), but does everyone know how to roast their own chestnuts…sans the open fire?!
Well, I am not going to fib, but this is the first year that I have ever (GASP) roasted chestnuts on my own! Being completely honest, I was intimidated to roast my own nuts lol, and I do not have an open fire, hell I do not even have a fireplace, and Lord knows with three snow falls before Christmas, there is no way in hell I was going to freeze my bum off by a campfire, just to say I roasted chestnuts! LOL I really wanted to try it, though, because around this time of year I always hear my mom talking about how when she was in her early 20’s, when she worked for a recruiting company on S. Broad in Philly, she would walk through the city to find vendors selling freshly roasted chestnuts – it was something she looked forward to during the holiday season.
You’ll be pleased to know that I REALLY turned this entire chestnut-roasting process into a much bigger deal than it actually is!
I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of this process, and the scrumptious warm, nutty aroma that lingered in the air while the chestnuts oven-roasted! Best part of this entire “recipe” is that there is only ONE ingredient…you smarty pants, YOU, I bet you guessed it?! CHESTNUTS. So if you have an oven and chestnuts, then you’ve got yourself a healthy, festive treat that will make you feel super Christmas carolly (yup, made that word up!)…especially when you prepare them in your Christmas thermals….not that I have been wearing mine like every day….he-he. Let me know if roasting chestnuts is something that you have been doing every holiday season, I know I am late to the fun! If you have any tips or tricks, send them my way too, I am a rookie with this! This is my last blog post before Christmas, so MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my followers, to all my friends and family, I love you all!
Oven-Roasted Chestnuts
Ingredients
1 lb. medium to large chestnuts, or however many your heart desires 🙂 (See Note)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Wash and dry your chestnuts.
3. Place chestnuts flat side down. Use a sharp paring knife to cut a slit into the top of each chestnut. Traditionally, an “x” is cut into the chestnut, some prefer to cut a slit across the chestnut; I saw no difference between putting an x or the cross/slit – peels came off easily. Be careful not to cut all the way through, you only want to cut the shell. This cut makes the chestnuts easiest to peel, when they cook properly. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! You MUST cut a slit in the chestnuts before roasting, as this allows steam to escape the chestnut while roasting, if you don’t, the chestnut will explode!
4. Place scored chestnuts in a single layer on a baking tray.
5. Roast chestnuts in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes. The bigger the chestnut, the longer they will take to cook. Chestnuts are done when they smell nutty, and are hot to the touch.
6. Remove chestnuts from oven, and allow to cool enough to handle them. Peel warm chestnuts, working quickly, using fingers if you have hands of steel as I do haha, or with a thin towel or some type of heat protective glove (hello potato-peeler gloves to the rescue!). Try to peel the chestnuts while they are still warm, as the paper-like skin that covers each chestnut becomes very difficult to remove once they have cooled down.
7. Enjoy them as is, or use them in a yummy recipe like this one: https://www.runningtothekitchen.com/honey-vanilla-chestnut-spread/
NOTE: For buying Chestnuts: Try to get all of a similar size so they roast evenly. If you can hear the chestnut rattling inside of the shell, don’t buy it. It has probably dried up and will not be edible.
Protective Gloves: Amazon Potato Peeler Gloves
Click here for a printable copy of the Oven Roasted Chestnuts Recipe
