Honeyed Chestnuts with Cream
A classic of the Valle d’Aosta, the highest region of Italy, where all the ingredients are found
naturally. Use good honey for this dish and if you cannot get clotted cream, use fresh whipped
cream. Don’t use spray cream – cream comes from cows not cans. Serves 4
Ingredients:
24–28 chestnuts, but cook a few extra as there are
always bad ones!
1 teaspoon salt
clotted cream
alpine or white unsalted butter
3 tablespoons mountain honey
Calvados or brandy (optional)
1 bottle Moscato wine
Often chestnuts are boiled in well-salted water, but as this is a sweet dish we are going
to reduce the salt. The chestnuts can be cooked a day earlier, if preferred. Pierce with a sharp
knife and put into a saucepan of boiling water together with the salt. Boil for 10 minutes, or until
a skewer goes through easily. Chestnuts vary in size so test a large one to make sure. Allow to
cool a little and then peel.
Before you start cooking the dish, put the cream into a nice bowl, which everyone will dip
into. And make sure the wine is chilled.
Melt some butter in a heavy pan and throw the chestnuts in to heat through for a few
minutes on a medium heat. Add the honey. The chestnuts will start to colour, so to stop them
burning, turn the heat down and add a teaspoon of water or even Calvados or brandy and
reduce the dressing down to a thick, sticky coating.
To serve, place the chestnuts in a plate and allow guests to take them at will and scoop
them into the cream. The hot chestnuts will melt the edge of the cream and leave guests licking
their fingers.
The chilled Muscat wine complements the dish perfectly and is part of this mountain
tradition.
*taken from the book ‘From Seed to plate’ by Paolo Arrigo, published by Simon and Schuster