Nobody said it would be easy.
I was the only one who thought so.
I am sitting in the kitchen, I brought my laptop here now because waiting for these chestnuts to cook without doing anything else is a waste of time. Sometimes I check how the chestnuts are doing in the boiling water, and I still have to go to buy rum... this chestnut puree won't be ready soon, I can see it now. 😂
Why I am doing this to myself? So many other things could have been finished until now, however now I started this so I will finish it, my first homemade chestnut puree!
A few days ago I bought half a kilo of fresh chestnuts at the market. We love roasted chestnuts, but at home, they never turn out as good and tasty as when you buy them on the street from street vendors. However, every year we try to roast them at home a couple of times. This time too, I bought fresh chestnuts thinking that we would roast them, but I realized that chestnut puree would be a special treat that I would like even more than roasted chestnuts because the last time I ate them was many, many years ago. A very long time ago, really. Some 10 or 15 years ago.
So here I am, as you already read at the beginning of the post, in the kitchen waiting for the chestnuts to cook.
Before I put them into the pot I washed the chestnuts and cut a line into the shell. My dad told me to do so but I also knew it from before, as then it is easier to peel them when cooked.
I started to do this with a normal straight knife, but then I realized it would be better with a serrated knife, not to cut my fingers as the chestnuts are hard and their shell is slippery.
I was doing this until my left wrist was not hurting too much (as I was pressing the chestnuts like crazy so they did not jump away). Anyway, it was a long time ago already, and now the cooking time is also getting to its end. 40 minutes passed since they went to this hot bath.
...long pause...
The chestnuts were cooked. I drained the water and put them in a large paper bag for a few minutes while they were still hot. I started peeling them when I could handle the heat. Some of the peels came off very easily because the cuts helped them open nicely. Others took more time.
I put the cooked chestnuts in a large bowl and peeled them, one by one. The time needed for this...? maybe 30 minutes. Luckily, I had some fun because my son was there and was practising scales and studies that he will have to play for an exam in a month.
The cooked chestnuts were ready for the next stage. Mixing them with sugar syrup, vanilla aroma, rum... oops, but I didn't go to the shop in the end to buy a bottle of rum for 40ml that I needed...
I used a different liquor that I had at home. It was the same strong hahaha, so I am writing this post now under the influence of Pacharán. 😆
I mixed the syrup I made from 70g of sugar and a little water with a hand mixer with chestnuts (half a kilo), vanilla, and liquor. Once the mixing was done, I served the chestnut puree in crystal glasses (like those for ice cream) and topped them with whipped cream.
Time to move to the living room. My boys were watching a movie (The Social Network) and while I was chatting with a friend, my portion of chestnut puree disappeared. 😁
That part was easy, to enjoy in this chestnut puree! That is true!
Let's just ignore the fact that this short pleasure required three hours of prep work. 😁
Have you ever tried chestnut puree?
If yes, you will know how goooooooood it is!
If not... would you spend three hours to prepare it? 😆
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