Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Monday, November 26, 2007
I love this time of year - it means chestnuts. And there is nothing better than roasted chestnuts. At the same time, it makes me a little sad - the blight of American Chestnut trees is an incredibly sad story. But there’s still hope - there are many organizations in the U.S. trying to save the American Chestnut by replanting with the goal of reintroducing the American Chestnut to American forests in Eastern North America.
Here in Pennsylvania, there are approximately 37 American Chestnut orchards, several of them local. I don’t think you can purchase edible chestnuts from these orchards, but you absolutely can get edible chestnuts of other varieties from local trees. Just this past weekend, a farmer from Lancaster County had a couple tables set up in Reading Terminal Market (I have no idea who this farmer is - he’s not there all the time, but it’s sort of the middle of the seating area in the middle of the RTM) and was selling half pints of chestnuts grown on his farm. I believe they are an Asian variety.
My preferred method of cooking chestnuts it to roast them in the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut an X into the flat side of each chestnut (I like to use the really awesome chestnut knife in the photo - my husband bought one for me last year after I nearly skewered myself cutting chestnuts with a regular paring knife), lay them X-side up on a baking sheet, and roast for 15-25 minutes. You’ll know the chestnuts are done when the X starts to peel up and the chestnuts are easy to peel.
Posted by Nicole on 11/26 at 03:00 AM
I’m guessing you were there early in the day. We were there in the early afternoon.
Chestnuts!!
Chestnuts are one of the many things I’ve discovered over the last year—although I didn’t discover them at a farmers’ market, but by being served roasted chestnuts at a friend’s apartment one winter evening. I immediately became a huge fan, and even though I didn’t discover them until later in the season, I spent late last winter buying chestnuts from a variety of stores (DiBruno Bros., Whole Foods, etc.) and experimenting with roasting.
That chestnut knife IS awesome—but my greatest disincentive to buying chestnuts is not the thought of skewering myself, but the difficulty in determining from the blemish-free shell whether the chestnuts will be firm and brown and meaty on the inside, or crumble to black dust after roasting. Have you ever had that problem?
About that ‘farmer from Lancaster County’ in the center court of RTM—that is Earl Livengood’s stand. I believe that he is one of the stalwart farmers who has been purveying Lancaster County produce into the Philadelphia area for many years; he has certainly been part of the South & Passyunk market since its beginning, over 10 years ago. Usually, he sets up his stand in that location on Saturdays, but he was there each day last week before Thanksgiving.
Relatedly, Earl’s son is the one who comes to the South & Passyunk market, and he brings Sam Consylman with him. Sam is a farmer who experiments with new and native plants, but also a GREAT resource as the (only?) forager in the area (e.g., for paw paws). When he first brought chestnuts to that market, he was surprised to hear that I bother roasting them. Since he’s a forager, he just eats them without cooking; I was dubious, but that day I tried just cracking one open. And I have to say—chestnuts are also good without being roasted! The shell is a little sharp, but it’s easy to peel away the brown paper on the inside, and the nut itself is crunchy and flavorful.
Whew. Apparently I had a lot to say about chestnuts…
You guys have me inspired to get some chestnuts! I got some produce for Thanksgiving from Livengood’s last week and was really impressed with the quality, selection and the fact that it was certified organic. Definitely the kind of farm that I want to support! Maybe I can make it to the Terminal on a Saturday…
I’ve been enjoying chestnuts too this fall. Fortunately for me, they grow on my family’s farm so it’s easy to get a big stash of them to play around with different recipes. I have three that I really enjoyed:
http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/10/25/chestnut-tarts/
http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/chestnut-and-leek-parcels/
http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/11/14/mulled-chestnut/
The last one is my absolute favorite but if you’re not a fan of overly rich food, go for the second one instead.
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I’m so glad you posted this. I have a bag of chestnuts that I wasn’t sure what to do with sitting in my kitchen! Though, I don’t have one of those neat-o knives, and the image of “skewering” myself is kind of a turn off