A truly nostalgic seasonal ingredient, chestnuts conjure up childhood memories of roasting over an open fire, trying to get to the sweet interior through the hot skins. Save burning your fingers with these recipes that show off the versatility of this autumnal favourite

RECIPES, WORDS AND FOOD STYLING LOUISE PICKFORD

PHOTOGRAPHS IAN WALLACE

Pot-roast guinea fowl with chestnuts and spiced gravy

HOW TO PREPARE, PEEL AND COOK FRESH CHESTNUTS

These recipes require cooked and peeled nuts, readily available in the shops, but if you prefer to forage for them or buy fresh nuts, you’ll need to remove the glossy brown outer layer and paler, papery inner layer that can be stubborn to remove. Foraged nuts need to be shelled first. Cooking the nuts – by roasting or boiling – makes them easier to peel. Here’s our illustrated guide to help.

Shelling and scoring

To remove the nuts from their spiky casing, push a small knife into the case where they’re starting to open (top right) and gently prise out the shiny nut within. Use a small sharp knife to carefully score a small cross across the rounded side of each nut shell (right), but try not to press into the nut itself; you only want to cut through the shell.

Next, roast (or boil) them

Heat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6 and put the scored chestnuts in a roasting tin. Cook for 12-15 minutes until the score marks have started to open out and the nut is tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Remove from the oven. As soon as you can handle the hot nuts, use a small knife to peel away both layers of shell and skin. Peeling is easier when the nuts are still hot.

Alternatively, bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil. Add the nuts and return to the boil, then cook for 8-10 minutes until tender. Drain the nuts and, as soon as they’re cool enough to handle (but still hot), peel away the two layers of skin (bottom right). The chestnuts are now cooked, peeled and ready to use.