Chestnuts

Chestnuts are plentiful this time of year, at least here in Turkey. Called kestane, these sweet, beautiful morsels are roasted on the streets by kestaneci and sold in small paper bags. The smell of roasting chestnuts is so intoxicating it appears in a very popular winter holiday song. They are soaked in a sugary syrup and sold as kestana sekeri. This delightful sweet is very popular in Bursa, just across the Marmara Sea from Istanbul.

My mother put roasted chestnuts in her stuffing every Thanksgiving. The smell of fire-roasted chestnuts brings back warm memories of helping my mother shell them in our kitchen the night before Thanksgiving. I also used to eat them raw! I still do, when I can get them. Fortunately chestnuts are very, very cheap here. I bought a 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) bag for just a few Turkish lira. Something that would've cost me about $15 in the States cost about 3! Sadly, the reason chestnuts are so expensive in the United States is because of scarcity. The fungus brought over on Asian species wiped out most of the trees on the East Coast.

The chestnut carries the property of love, and chestnuts were often worn to attract love. This fruit is also very nutritious. The leaves and bark are high in tannins, making them anti-inflammatory and very astringent. Chestnuts contain no cholesterol and are very low in fat. These fruits were also thought to be the original ingredient of polenta. Ground, they can be used to make bread.

Here is a recipe that is packed with nutrition (plus butter!) - Brussels sprouts with chestnuts. This is going to be a part of my potluck offerings for Thursday's feast, a lovely way to welcome the sun and impart some love into the guests' lives.

Recipe courtesy of The New York Times

Brussels Sprouts and Chestnuts in Brown Butter Sauce
New York Times 11/14/07

Salt
2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup very thinly sliced shallots
3 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups hot chicken stock
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup roasted, peeled chestnuts, halved if large.

1. Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil, add brussels sprouts and cook 10 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Drain again.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan. Add shallots and cook over medium heat, stirring, until light brown. Pour contents of pan through a fine strainer into a dish, pressing to remove as much butter as possible from shallots. Place shallots on paper towel to drain. Return butter to saucepan.

3. If serving immediately, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook until butter has a nutty aroma and is turning brown. Whisk in flour and cook until mixture is light brown. Whisk in stock and cook until sauce has thickened. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and nutmeg. Add chestnuts and brussels sprouts, folding ingredients together.

4. Transfer to an 8-cup baking dish. Scatter shallots on top. Bake about 15 minutes. Serve.


This may not be the recipe to serve to your love if s/he is not a fan of Brussels sprouts, however. If that is the case, I can provide links for ordering kestane sekeri from Turkey. I am sending my mom chocolate-covered kestane this year!