Sweetened Chestnut Puree Recipes

Steps:

• Combine chestnuts, milk, and salt in a saucepan. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into pan, and toss in pod. Bring to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, until chestnuts are very soft and all but about 1/2 cup of the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
• Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, reserving chestnuts and cooking liquid separately and discarding vanilla pod. Process chestnuts in a food processor until very smooth, adding reserved cooking liquid (and additional milk if needed), 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture is the consistency of a thick spread. Pour through a large-mesh sieve. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Steps:

• Chop the chestnuts roughly and put in pot with sugar and water. Bring to boil, covered. Simmer 25-35 minutes, until softened and liquid turned to syrup. Remove from heat.
• Stain the chestnuts, reserving the syrup.
• Pure the chestnuts in a blender, adding syrup as you go, until desired consistency achieved.
• Add the vanilla.

Steps:

• Tip the chestnuts into a saucepan with the milk and thyme. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 10-15 mins. The chestnuts are ready when they start to fall apart slightly when pricked with a fork.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small pan and fry the shallots over a medium heat until softened.
• Remove the thyme from the chestnuts and discard. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chestnuts to a food processor, then pour in 100ml of the poaching milk, reserving the rest. Add the fried shallots and crème fraîche, then blitz to a thick purée, adding more of the reserved poaching milk to loosen if needed. Season with salt and some white pepper to taste. To freeze, leave to cool fully, then seal in an airtight container and freeze for three weeks.
• Tip the purée back into the saucepan and cover to keep warm until you're ready to serve. If the purée needs reheating, add a splash of the reserved poaching milk and warm through over a low heat.

Steps:

• Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Carefully cut a small X shape into the side of each chestnut. Boil the chestnuts for 20 minutes.
• While the chestnuts are cooking, melt the sugar in 2 tablespoons of water. The sugar syrup is done when the water boils and the sugar has completely dissolved.
• Drain the chestnuts and allow them to cool until you can comfortable handle them. Peel them by pulling back on the cut triangles of each X on the sides.
• Discard the skins and puree the cooked chestnuts.
• Add the chestnut puree to the sugar syrup and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
• This sweetened chestnut puree recipe makes approximately 1 3/4 to 2 cups of chestnut spread, depending on the size of the chestnuts.
• Mixture is very thick, so add water by the tablespoon and blend until desired consistency is achieved.