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December 10th, 2024

Blog, How To & Tips, Nuts, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Snacks, Special Recipes

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Fantastic – and Developing – Bella Vita Chestnut Roasting Learning Experience

Bags of fresh and vacuum packed Italian Bella Vita chestnuts.

You can’t have Christmas without hearing “Chestnuts Roasting on An Open Fire” – many, many times. Chestnuts and Christmas just go together.

And then there’s something about always learning something new and applying what you’ve just learned. You might have seen my posts hear about roasting chestnuts in a conventional kitchen oven or toaster oven. Roasting chestnuts has been family tradition beyond my lifetime.

Then, very recently, I met with Celso Paganini, owner of Bella Vita, Italian foods importer. I got some of his chestnuts at a Greenwich, CT, supermarket 2 years ago. I was so taken by their consistently rich flavor and how well they peeled after roasting that I had to call to let him know they were the best chestnuts I’d ever had. We’ve been in touch since. When we met a couple weeks ago, I asked how he roasts chestnuts.

Celso’s favorite roasting method is over an open fire. Killer, and I have to try that sometime. But, when that isn’t possible, he roasts them in a pan with holes in it, like the one shown below, in a conventional oven, first at high heat, 550° F, to char the shells and then reduces the oven heat to 425° F for most of the roasting time.

Chestnut roasting pan with holes in the bottom of the pan.

Interestingly, when I went to the Bella Vita site to look up Celso’s chestnut roasting directions, I saw that he includes an extra step. After making crosscuts into the shells of both sides of the chestnuts to keep the chestnuts from exploding under high heat, which is a must no matter what roasting technique you use,…

Chestnut with crosscuts in the shell to prevent the chestnut from exploding under high roasting heat.

…he also recommends soaking the freshly scored chestnuts in water before roasting.

Soaking freshly crosscut chestnuts in water before roasting.

I’d never heard of pre-soaking chestnuts before roasting them. Right away, I checked other top hit chestnut roasting directions, and though some of them suggested doing the same, one of them, Foolproof Living said they saw no difference between soaking and not soaking chestnuts, as explained below.

Still, I gave the soaking technique a try, and though the result turned out great, and I put together drafted picture book directions to make that technique easy to learn and use, I’m going to use the same chestnuts from one of the bags shown above and roast them exactly as I did the soaked chestnuts only without soaking and compare results.

Yep, that means more to follow. And that’s what learning and adapting – or maybe confirming – is all about.

In the meantime, I still stand by the easy, straightforward directions I’ve had here on the site and have posted about recently that you can get by clicking this link or the picture book directions image below.

More soon!

October 23rd, 2024

Blog, Cooking Technique, Dessert, Nuts, Special Recipes

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Killer Flavorful Roasted Chestnuts: Picture Book Directions

Good friend, Shane Stuart, rolled into Hickory with his Suttle’s Nut Farm truck 2 weekends ago with my favorite fresh chestnuts, South Carolina grown North American chestnuts.

“How’re things looking this year, Shane?”

“Great! Last year we harvested 6000 pounds. This year we have 9000 pounds.”

I picked up a 2 pound bag and have been loving them for evening dessert, especially as the nights get cooler.

Roasted chestnuts have been a warm, richly flavorful rite of winter all my life. And though I’ve seen and used different methods of roasting, the easiest, most practical way I’ve found to roast chestnuts is with a toaster oven.

As shown in the step-by-step picture book conventional oven/toaster oven chestnut roasting directions you can get by clicking this link or any picture below, here are four tips before actually getting to the roasting:

I like using a toaster oven for convenience and power savings, but if you don’t have a toaster oven, a conventional kitchen oven will work just as well. Also note: if you’re using American chestnuts, which are half the size of Italian chestnuts, cut roasting time in half.
When buying fresh chestnuts, select those that are firm to the touch – the shell should not give when squeezed with your thumb as shown in the picture below. Also, choose those chestnuts that are heavier rather than lighter in weight and don’t have any signs of mold or small round wormholes in their shells.

Select fresh chestnuts that are firm to the touch

3. To prevent chestnuts from exploding while roasting and avoid a nasty mess to clean up (you bet, I know this from experience), make sure to cut into the shells before roasting chestnuts.

Cutting an "X" through chestnut shells to prevent chestnuts from exploding while roasting

4. If you’re not roasting fresh chestnuts the same day you bought them, put them in a plastic bag and store them in the refrigerator for at least 1 week. Just beware that the meat of the chestnut inside the shell dries out steadily over time.

Putting fresh chestnuts in a plastic bag and refrigerating them to preserve them best

If you live in the Hickory area, check out the Suttle’s Farm Fresh Nut truck loaded with nuts grown in South Carolina and parked at 2231 N. Center St. (Rt. 127).

Most of all, roast on and enjoy!

March 4th, 2022

Blog, Cycling Food, Dessert, Fitness Food, Nutrition, Nuts, Running Food

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Banana Nut Butter Power Bar Picture Book Recipe

These potently flavorful, easy to make banana nut butter power bars work great for dessert or as an on-the-go sport power bar. As you see in the picture above, I prefer making them in the toaster oven for ease and speed, though the picture book directions linked to this post also show how to bake them in a standard kitchen oven.

Regarding the ingredients shown above and below, I know it looks like a lot – but don’t panic. The spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg) along with vanilla extract are the cornerstones of the full flavor of these bars. If you don’t have some of those spices, just use a little more of what you do have. You can also use juice (apple cider works great) instead of coffee and substitute ground flaxseeds, chia seeds, and whole grain cereal with any other ground similar type of ingredient, like ground nuts or your favorite cereal. The bottom line: imagination and available ingredients are your only limits.

Click this link or any picture on this page for a complete, easy-to-follow step-by-step picture book recipe.

May 12th, 2019

Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Cycling Food, Dessert, Fitness Food, How To & Tips, Nuts

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Easy Chopped Nuts Picture Directions

Last post mentioned that I’d next show how to make a mix of chopped nuts and ground flaxseed that I use with much more than the Bell Pepper with Cilantro Pesto-Hummus and Cheese I showed how to make. As a first step, though, I thought I’d show here how to chop nuts as quickly and easily as possible.

Nuts are a fantastic source of plant-based protein and healthy fats. I put them in cereal, with fruit and yogurt, in salads, with pasta or grains, and much more. The only thing to watch for with nuts is that they are packed with calories. Moderation is key.

And, that’s why I find it best to use chopped nuts exactly as needed instead of having a bag of those same nuts at my side to feed from, which I certainly have done – and paid for dearly.

There are two ways I chop nuts: with a food processor (preferred) or with a coffee grinder (fine for small amount but takes a bit of care).

Here’s how to chop nuts with a food processor. Use the S-shaped processor blade as shown in the top picture below and add as many nuts as needed to the food processor.

Close the processor top and turn on the processor for about 10 seconds until the nuts look about as shown in the bottom left picture.

To chop nuts in a coffee grinder, which works fine for small amounts, add nuts to the coffee grinder,…

…close the top, keep the top held firmly in place, and shake the grinder while keeping the grinder on for 5 or so seconds.

Make sure to unplug the grinder from the outlet, and then scoop out the chopped nuts as well as possible – without making yourself, well, nuts. Grinding your next batch of coffee with do a great job cleaning the grinder.

Store the chopped nuts in the refrigerator, where they will keep fresh for at least a few weeks – as long as the nuts you used were fresh when you chopped them.