Roast Chestnuts

When I used to live in China, there was a chestnut stand on almost every street block corner. And I think it took me a few months to realize that amazing, cinnamon smell was actually chestnuts. OK they were being cooking in an oil drum cut in half and yes maybe the man selling them didn’t have all his fingers but it was worth it. Little coals of warmth that tasted like autumn. Sorry, I don’t usually talk like that but there’s no other way t describe them, *adjusts tiara*.

I got these chestnuts in Asda for a pound and had everything else already in the kitchen/garden. The only difficulty is making sure you don’t cut yourself scoring them shell so it’s probably better if you have access to a sharp pairing knife.

Start your engines! I mean…preheat your ovens! 180C

Put the chestnut flat on a board and score an X without losing any fingertips. Please be careful!

Add them to a bowl of boiling water and let them soak for a few minutes. This will keep them from drying out when we cook them.

Drain, then add your butter, chopped rosemary and salt and toss them before laying them flat on a large sheet of foil.

This is the fun part (well, I thought it was fun). Collect the edges and corners of the foil until you fashion a kind of volcano shape. Make sure it’s not too tall for your oven shelves.

Stick them in the oven and let them cook for 45 mins to an hour. Garnish with any left over rosemary and serve! The shells will be soft enough to peel back and inside you’ll have a flavoursome soft fleshy

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