If I’m honest, I’m not the biggest fan of chestnuts. Not because I don’t like them but because they’re such a pain to prepare – which is a shame because it’s one of nature’s free foods that’s easily foraged.
Last week, a friend who has a house nearby bought us a bag gathered from their garden. What shall I do with those I thought (and in the back of my mind thinking I probably wouldn’t get around to doing anything with them).
And then, I spotted a recipe on Instagram from Alain Passard (the king of all things vegetable, famous chef from Paris). He said that you can cook them in salted butter without shelling them. This was a light bulb moment.
So, you cut them in half with a sharp knife and then place them, cut side down in a small frying pan with a little salted butter. You keep the heat as low as it will go and after about 15 minutes they are cooked. Voila!
I prepared a few and mixed them in with some pan fried girolles (wild mushrooms) for our dinner on Sunday night. They look super seasonal and are just a bit festive.
Why don’t you give it a try?
A ballotine of rabbit, fig, chestnuts, girolles, potatoes and califlower purée 
After 15 minutes they’re golden and can be scooped out with a knife
