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A message landed in my DMs on Instagram the other day, from @thehyperlocalist who makes beautiful hampers of iconic Italian products. He'd seen my Tuscan gift boxes (which are sold out by the way, they flew out the door – thank you!) and inside was one of my very favourite things, an ingredient that I often hear people abroad lament that is very hard to find: chestnut flour.
“How interesting, is that a common staple in Tuscany?” He asked.
It is indeed. I wrote him back: “They say during the world wars polenta saved the north and fish saved the south, chestnuts saved central Italy, Tuscany included.”
Chestnut flour is not only common, but it is a must when it comes to traditional Tuscan recipes. It is nothing more than fresh Tuscan chestnuts from the mountains that have been slowly dried out, then stone ground into a fine flour. Because of the nature of chestnuts, it is naturally sweet, naturally gluten free and highly seasonal – but also has a short shelf life. You won't find this anywhere come spring.
The flour is mostly used in the rustic dessert, castagnaccio, above, a sort of large, flat, dense cake of chestnut flour batter with walnuts, pine nuts, raisins and rosemary. Or necci, delicious crepes often served with ricotta, or with prosciutto and pecorino cheese. The subtle sweetness of chestnut works beautifully with porky flavours.
It makes wonderful polenta (see this photo essay from when my friend Simona from Canto del Maggio took me to this rifiugio in the mountains where a 92 year old man made us this chestnut polenta, hands down one of my favourite food experiences ever), chestnut gnocchi (this is a recipe in my second cook book Acquacotta and incidentally in this post there are three recipes I’d make for Christmas, including the chestnut gnocchi, Guinea fowl stewed with vinegar, a dish from the Maremma that blew me away, and my Christmas log). I have this chestnut and pumpkin gnocchi recipe too.
You can also play around with the flour by mixing it with regular flour and creating pasta (lasagne bastarde are so quick and easy to make at home - 10 minutes, I promise - and ricotta filled chestnut ravioli are wonderful), or cakes like this ciambella or biscotti, even a chestnut flour panforte. Yes I have tried it all.
I absolutely love chestnuts. I would put them in everything if I could. In soup (very satisfying with chickpeas, this is a recipe from Acquacotta) and even in an omelette or frittata (below).
Dangle a bag of hot, bursting, charred, roasted chestnuts, which appear in food festivals in Tuscany in the autumn and winter or on the streets of Florence, in front of me and I’m yours. In Tuscany they are often also boiled, ballotte, they're called, which I find a much easier way to prepare them at home than roasting. Simply make an incision on the tough shells with a sharp knife, then put them in a pan of cold water with a couple of bay leaves and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Let it cook for 30 minutes then let them cool enough to handle before removing the shells and skins and enjoying – try them dipped in a glass of red wine.
The other thing I love about chestnuts’ versatility is how delicious they are with sweet or savoury dishes. In Japan, there is kurigohan, chestnut rice, which is simply rice and chestnuts cooked together (see Shihoko’s aka Chopstick Chronicles recipe, she has a hack for making peeling them easier too). I am quite certain my love of chestnuts began in Japan, where I first ate them roasted and in my favourite yokan sweets and as marron glace, which, I have to say it, is even better than chocolate. The way they are sold, wrapped in paper; one chestnut costs as much as a whole bar of chocolate, so you savour it in teeny tiny bites and that velvety sweetness just melts in your mouth — is it just me?
I was just reading a recipe in Molly O'Neill's A Well Seasoned Appetite (such a beautiful cookbook) for Brussels sprouts, which are cooked in a pan with pancetta, pearl onions and chestnuts with some reduced chicken stock and my mouth is watering at the thought of this dish. I think it would make a perfect side dish to a nice roast for Christmas, but it’s the chestnuts that kind of seal the deal for me.
Now finally to this chestnut and ricotta dessert recipe that I wanted to share with you. It is a recipe that I think would be useful around the holidays because it is perfectly quick to prepare, you can even prepare it the day before if you prefer, it's simple and delicious but also so easy to customise or adapt. You could use your favourite fruit compote, marmalade, dried figs or fresh fruit here instead of the chestnuts. Or chocolate. Or add a splash of rum, or coffee. Add truffles even — sounds kooky but this is how I came to fall in love with this recipe, I made it for a recent truffle cooking class (hence the speckles in the ricotta mousse below — grated truffle) and it was a big hit, earthy and fragrant, wonderfully matched with the sweet chestnuts, both fruits of the forest.
Ricotta mousse with chestnuts and chestnut honey
Chestnut honey is a deep, dark, honey with burnt caramel-like, balsamic flavours, a rather intense honey that is absolutely delicious with ricotta. You could substitute with another honey or maple syrup but the thing about chestnut honey is it's intense flavour and that it is not too sweet.
Serves 5
500 grams of ricotta
150 ml fresh single/pouring cream
100 grams of sugar
15 boiled and peeled chestnuts (see ballotte instructions above)
5 teaspoons chestnut honey
Drain the ricotta if it has a little whey around it, then push it through a fine-meshed sieve to get it really smooth. Whip the ricotta with the cream and sugar until thick and fluffy. Distribute the mixture into 5 little glass bowls or jars, or ramekins. You can keep them covered and chilled, like this, until needed. When ready to serve, crumble the chestnuts over the top of each, followed by a heaped teaspoon of chestnut honey over the top of each.
Do you know if the necci stand you mention in your post about them still operates and on the same days? I know you moved but just wanted to ask in case you knew. Thanks!