|
Chestnut & Rice Soup
Dried chestnuts can be used but must be soaked for 24 hours before cooking. If using fresh ones score them on the round side and boil, or cook in a slow oven for 10 to 15 minutes and peel them while they are still warm.
200 g / 7 oz fresh chestnuts skinned
2 litres / 31/2pts / 9 cupr water
140 g / 5 oz / 3/4 cup risotto or pudding rice
500 ml / 2 cups milk
30 g / 1 oz butter
salt and one good pinch of cinnamon
Put chustnuts in a large saucepan with water and salt, bring to boil and cook 1-11/2 hours until soft.
Add rice and when half cooked add milk and butter, simmer until the soup has reached a creamy.
Serve hot, putting a blob of cream and a pinch of cinnamon on each serving.
Separately serve 'sippets' of fried bread.
Zuppa di Castagne
Peel chestnuts as above
1/2 lb / 225 g peeled chestnuts
2 onions chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 small piece of celery chopped
40 g / 11/2oz butter or bacon fat
11/2litres / 21/2pints stock or water
salt and pepper
In the butter or bacon fat gently brown the chopped vegetables, add the chestnuts and stock and season to taste. Cook until the chestnuts are complitely tender and beginning to break up, about 40 minutes. Put the soup through a mouli sieve, heat up and serve with slices of fried bread.
Chestnuts in the Bergamo style
Serves 4-6.
1 kg / 21/4 lbs hot roasted chestnuts
(do you perhaps have a real fire or those special perforated spoons for doing this? If not you can buy one from the market)
70 ml / 4 tabsp / 1/3 cup Grappa
2-3 tabsp. fine sugar (an Italy regular standard sugar)
Peel the chestnuts while still hot, try to get them out whole. Toss them in a dry frying pan over a high heat. Remove from pan, sprimkle with the Grappa and the sugar and flambé. Eat as soon as the flames die down.
Chestnuts with Marsala
Serves 4-6.
450 g / 1 lb peeled chestnuts, try to get them out whole.
Put them in a pan together with three-quarters Marsala and a quarter red wine. Add 2 or 3 table spoon of sugar, simmer gently until they are quite tender and the wine has turned to thick syrup. If it is not thick enough carefully left out chestnuts with a perforated spoon, reduce syrup and then pour over chestnuts when thick enough. Serve hot or cold with cream.
Monte Bianco
450 g / 1 lb peeled chestnuts (enough for 4)
225 g / 1/2 lb sugar
110 g / 4 oz cream, double or whipping. In Italy you can buy already whipped cream.
Salt.
Cover the chestnuts in planty of water and simmer for about an hour until they are perfectly tender. Strain off the water, mash chestnuts with the sugar and a good pinch of salt. Put them through a potato ricer, or food mill with fairy large holes, held over the dish in which they are to be served. As the sieved chestnuts come out of the ricer they are to fall lightly into a cone-shaped wound.
Over the prepared chestnuts pour the whipped cream, (flavoured if you like with a little brandy or marsala or ...) but do not press it down or attempt to put the pudding into shape or it will lose its lightness.
If possible, prepare the Monte Bianco only a short while before it is served.
|