Tagliatelle with Chestnut Pancetta and Sage

From Epicurious.com

Makes 6 to 8 side-dish or 4 main-course servings 

Total time 30 min

This beautiful pasta dish features a classic trio of Italian ingredients. Bottled roasted chestnuts make preparation surprisingly quick. 

Ingredients

• 3 ounces pancetta (Italian unsmoked cured bacon), chopped (scant 1 cup)

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

• 8 ounces bottled peeled roasted whole chestnuts, coarsely crumbled (1 1/2 cups)

• 8 ounces dried flat egg pasta such as tagliatelle or fettuccine

• 2 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

Cook pancetta in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and 1 tablespoon sage and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in chestnuts and remove from heat.

Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1 1/2 cups cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander and add to pancetta mixture in skillet. Add 1 cup reserved cooking water along with cheese and butter and cook, tossing constantly, over high heat until pasta is well coated (add more reserved water if necessary), about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve sprinkled with parsley and the remaining tablespoon of sage.

Apple Chestnut Cornbread Stuffing

From mayihavethatrecipe.com

Serves: 6-8 Prep time15 mins Cook time 1 hr 30 min Total time 1 hr 45 mins

Ingredients

Vegan Cornbread

• 5 tbsp non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening melted and slightly cooled (we use Earth Balance All Natural Shortening Sticks) plus extra to grease the baking dish

• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk (we use Silk Pure Almond)

• 3 tbsp flax meal

• 1 ½ cups cornmeal

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

• 1 ½ tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 1- 6oz container vanilla soy yogurt (we use Silk Live!)

• ½ cup seltzer water

• Zest of 1 small lemon

Stuffing

• 2 tbsp non-hydrogenated vegetable spread (for extra flavor, here we used Earth Balance Roasted Garlic & Herb Spread) plus extra to grease baking dish

• 1 medium granny smith apple, diced

• 6-7 celery stalks, diced (about 2 cups)

• 12oz tray mushrooms, chopped (about 1 ½ – 8oz trays)

• 1 cup packaged cooked chestnuts, chopped

• ¼ tsp salt (or to taste)

• ¼ tsp onion powder powder

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage

• 2 cups vegetable broth (or 2 cups water plus 1 vegetable bouillon cube)

Instructions

Vegan Cornbread

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8inch square baking dish

• In a small bowl, whisk together almond milk and flax meal. Set aside

• In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt

• In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, almond milk/flax mixture, melted shortening, and lemon zest

• Pour into dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add seltzer water and mix until well incorporated

• Pour batter into the prepared dish and bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes. Let cool completely

Stuffing

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 13×9 inch baking dish with vegetable spread

• Dice cornbread in approximately ½ inch pieces. Set aside

• In a large non-stick skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of vegetable spread at medium heat. Add apples and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften

• Add mushrooms, chestnuts, salt, onion powder, and sage, and cook for another 10 minutes

• In a large bowl, combine cornbread and vegetables. Toss it all well together and transfer to the greased baking dish, pressing down gently. Pour vegetable broth all over it and bake uncovered at 375F for 40 minutes, until golden brown.

Chestnut and Cranberry Roll

From Jane Hornby Good Food magazine

1 hr 30 mins to make, makes 2 rolls

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 Bramley apples, approx 140/5oz each, peeled

• 3 x 450g/1lb packs of good-quality pork sausage

• 2 x 200g/7oz packs vacuum-packed chestnuts, roughly chopped

• small bunch parsley, leaves roughly chopped

• small bunch sage, leaves roughly chopped

• small bunch thyme, leaves stripped

• 1 egg

• 100g white breadcrumbs

• 175g fresh or frozen cranberries

• 24 rashers streaky bacon

• butter, for greasing

Get ahead: The rolls can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and kept, raw, in the fridge, or frozen for up to 1 month. Roast up to 1 day ahead if you wish, then reheat, wrapped in foil, for 30 mins while the turkey rests and your vegetables finish cooking.

• Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then gently fry the onion for 5 mins until softened. Finely chop the apples either by hand or in a food processor.

• Squeeze the sausage meat from the sausages into a large bowl, then add all the other ingredients, except the cranberries and streaky bacon. Season generously, then get your hands in and mix well. Weigh out 450g of the stuffing and mix a handful of the cranberries into it. Use to stuff the neck of the turkey (see “goes well with”).

• To assemble, butter, and season a large sheet of foil. Stretch out the bacon rashers slightly with the back of a kitchen knife and then overlap 12 rashers on the foil. Spoon half of the stuffing mix evenly over the bacon, leaving a border of about 3cm. Scatter with half the cranberries, then pat them in. Tuck the long edges of the bacon over the stuffing; then, using the foil to help, roll the stuffing up into a log shape. Repeat to make a second roll.

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Put the foil-wrapped rolls onto a roasting tin and roast for 45 mins. Unwrap, draining off any juice, then finish roasting for 15 mins until the bacon is crisp.

Paleo Almond-Chestnut Crusty Bread

Found on pinterest/thesaffrongirl.com

Because the dough must be kneaded and is dry, it could be shaped and made to look like a baguette or a traditional bread. However, I made it in a loaf pan (8×4). For a higher bread, I recommend a slightly small pan.

Ingredients

• 150g (1 3/4 cups) chestnut flour

• 200g (2 cups) ground almonds

• 4 eggs

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 tablespoon raw honey (optional)

Process

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
2. Grease and line with parchment paper a loaf pan.
3. Mix the chestnut flour, ground almonds, sea salt, and soda. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, with a hand mixer, beat the eggs until fluffy. Add the olive oil and honey and mix well.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. With your hands, knead the dough for about 3-4 minutes, until completely combined.
6. Spoon and flatten into the prepared loaf pan and drizzle with some olive oil over top.
7. Bake for 10 minutes at 180C.
8. Reduce oven temperature to 150C and bake an additional 20 minutes.
9. Allow to completely cool before cutting.

Note: Inserting a toothpick into this bread does not work, as it will come out clean even if the center is still undercooked. That was my mistake with the first attempt.

Chestnut Bread

Found on cookeatshare.com

Prep time: 1-1/2 hours Cook time: 30 minutes Servings: 12 Slices

Ingredients

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup roasted whole chestnuts (shelled)*

• 1/4 cup sugar (optional) plus 1/2 teaspoon (required)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup warm water (almost hot)

• 1-1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions

• *TIP: Roasted whole chestnuts that are shelled and ready to eat are available online and at grocers and specialty food stores.

• Prepare a bread pan by applying the non-stick spray to all sides and coating it with flour. Shake off excess flour. Set aside.

• In a food processor, add chestnuts and chop until finely ground. Set aside.

• In a coffee mug, add 3/4 cup of very warm water, dry yeast, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Briskly stir. Let the yeast rise to near the top of the mug.

• In the meantime, add to a stand mixer bowl 2 cups of flour, ground chestnuts, 1/4 cup sugar (optional), and salt. Slowly mix together.

• Add risen yeast mixture and olive oil to the flour mixture.

• Drizzle 1/4 cup warm water along the inside of the coffee mug to remove any leftover yeast and pour this into the mixing bowl.

• Mix together to form a dough ball. If the dough is too hard (dry), add a tablespoon at a time of warm water to it while mixing. If too soft (sticky) or has too much liquid in it, add a tablespoon of flour at a time while mixing. The dough is ready when the dough pulls away from the sides and bottom of the bowl and forms a dough ball.

• Spread some flour on a clean, flat surface. Pat hand in flour and remove the dough ball and any remnants from the mixing bowl onto the prepared work area. Knead the dough for a few minutes. Shape it to fit in the prepared bread pan. Flour all sides of the dough, lightly rubbing off excess. This helps prevent the bread from sticking to the pan when done and creates a nice crust.

• Place the shaped dough into the prepared bread pan. Cover the dough with a clean hand towel and let rise. The dough is ready to bake when stretch marks form over its surface. NOTE: Depending on the temperature of the room, this may take up to an hour or more. The trick is to allow the dough to rise. Risen dough makes for better-textured bread.

• Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C).

• With a sharp knife, cut through just the dough’s surface every 1-2 inches.

• Bake the bread for 20-30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove from the pan. If the bottom hasnâ?™t browned, turn the bread upside down in the oven and let bake for a few more minutes.

• When done, remove the bread from the oven and wrap it inside the same hand towel previously used during the dough’s rising period.

Chestnut Block

Chop peeled Dunstan Chestnuts into small kernels. Dry in a food dryer or oven at low temp until the nuts are almost rock hard. Grind into flour using a food processor or flour mill. Store flour in the freezer. Try substituting chestnut flour in all of your favorite cake and pastry recipes (substitute 1/4-1/3 chestnut flour for the recipe’s flour requirements), or make chestnut pasta by using chestnut flour as part of your favorite pasta recipe.

Native American Chestnut Bread

The Native Americans taught the early settlers to make this bread. Chop finely or mash one lb of peeled Dunstan Chestnuts. Add enough cornmeal to hold chestnuts together, mixing chestnuts and cornmeal with boiling water. Wrap in green com shucks, tying each one with white twine. Place in a pot of boiling water and cook for two hours. Salt when eating, if desired.