Roasted Chestnut Stuffing
Here are a few alternatives to the “open fire” variety!
Roasted Chestnut Soup
Ingredients
3 cups whole roasted bottled chestnuts
2 cups chopped yellow onion
3/4 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°. Place chestnuts on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Place chestnuts in a large bowl; cool to room temperature. Combine onion, carrot, and oil on pan; toss to coat vegetables. Bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add to chestnuts; stir in broth. Pour half of broth mixture into a blender; blend until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into a Dutch oven. Repeat procedure with remaining broth mixture. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place pan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Place cream in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt; beat at high speed until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Ladle about 3/4 cup soup into each of 10 bowls; top each serving with about 1 tablespoon cream. Sprinkle with thyme. Serve immediately
(courtesy of myrecipes.com)
Roasted Chestnut Stuffing
Ingredients
1 medium carrot, peeled and rough chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch fresh sage
1 1/2 pounds loose sweet Italian sausage
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups cubed sourdough bread, crusts removed
1 pound roasted chestnuts
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and butter a 9 by 11-inch baking dish. In a food processor puree the carrot, onion, celery and sage until you have a fine pulp. Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the sausage in a little olive oil. Once you have a nice brown color and the fat has rendered – about 5 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the vegetable pulp to the pan and saute until most of the moisture has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Add to the mixing bowl with the sausage and also add the bread crumbs and chestnuts.
Mix together chicken stock, cream and egg. Pour this wet mixture over the dressing mix. Season and fold everything together. Pour out into the roasting dish and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown on the top (if it gets too brown before the 30 minutes is up, tent with foil).
(courtesy of foodnetwork.com)