CHESTNUTS IN RED WINE

Food memories are a powerful force. The scent of something cooking has the ability to instantly transport us to another time, another place, to be with other people. Do you associate a certain food with a season? For me it’s chestnuts and winter. Once the air turns cold and starts to smell of snow, I crave chestnuts.

During my years in NYC the scent of roasted chestnuts from the street cart vendors signaled the arrival of winter. Many nights, on the walk home from work I would treat myself to a bag and happily stroll along peeling and popping them in my mouth along the way. Every year I looked forward this little ritual that brought me joy. It’s the little things, after all.

Many years later I found myself living in the mountains of Piemonte where, once the air turned brisk, friends taught me how to forage for freshly fallen chestnuts. We bundled up, filled our bags, and headed to the backyard where we proceeded to roast them over an open fire. Sipping on sweet moscato wine while looking out onto the wondrous Italian Alps, getting to know new people, speaking a new language, the familiar aroma of roasted chestnuts felt like a warm hug from an old friend.

High up in those mountains where chestnuts are plentiful and used in many forms, I learned a few other ways to enjoy them. Here, I share with you one of my favorites — chestnuts in red wine. The recipe is simple and your home will smell amazing as the chestnuts simmer away in their red wine bath. Soak your chestnuts in warm water for about 20-30 minutes to soften the shells. Once they are done soaking carefully cut an X in the round part of the chestnut, taking care to not slice through the flesh. Add the cut chestnuts to a pan (I like to use my 4qt Staub Cocotte because it retains the heat evenly) with about a cup of red wine (I favor Barbera D’Alba but use what you like - Chianti would also be nice), and fill with water to cover. Now, depending on how many chestnuts you have you might alter those measurements a bit. Usually, I would add a spring of fresh rosemary but I happen to have fresh bay leaves on hand so I decided to use those instead. One of my favorite cooking sayings is “if it grows together it goes together” and I let that guide me. Rosemary and bay laurel trees thrive in those mountains and the bay leaves added a wonderful depth of flavor. Pinch of salt into the pot then cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until they are soft - this really depends on the age of your chestnuts but you can expect at least a half an hour. These took about 45 minutes and then take the lid off and let the liquid cook down until enough remains to just coat them nicely. Serve warm, preferably with a glass of the cooking wine.

** Disclaimer - although these chestnuts were imported from Italy, supporting our local store that brought them in for the holidays just feels right. Thank you, Woodstock Farmers Market, for this delightful walk down memory lane.

Connected