Quiet November days, the air is clear and glassy, cutting my breath when I go outside in the morning to open the gate.
I made marrons glacés this week, that’s chestnuts cooked in sugar syrup and of course it’s got rum in it too. They’re a little treat and I eat them with my mocca after lunch. They take several days to make, it’s a very slow process and just the right thing to do in this solemn month of November. I made them on the wood fired stove which is a lot easier as they’re constantly being kept warm. We have a chestnut tree that makes really nice big chestnuts, we had a good harvest and so I decided to give it a go this year.
What you’ll need
- A couple of big edible chestnuts, I unfortunately forgot to weigh them but it was about half a kilo I’d say, two good handfuls of peeled chestnuts.
- 500g of sugar
- Half the stem of a vanilla bean, split into two
- Half a litre of water
- A dash of aged rum
- More water for peeling them
- Icing sugar
How you make it
Peel the outer shell off the chestnuts. Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the chestnuts, cook for 2-5 minutes and take off the stove. Peel the sticky thin skin off the chestnuts while they’re still hot. Be careful but generally, the hotter they are, the easier the skin comes off.
Bring the sugar, vanilla and water to the boil in a separate pan, add the peeled chestnuts and simmer for 30 minutes. Take off the heat and add a dash of rum, cover with a lid and let sit at room temperature until the next day.
The next day, heat the pan until the syrup starts bubbling, take off the heat and let sit at room temperature until the next day. Repeat for at least another two days.
When they’re done, gently take them out of the syrup and let them dry at room temperature. Warm the syrup and add small quantities of icing sugar until you get a thick soupy sauce, the consistency of running honey or caramel sauce. Dip each chestnut into the icing and let drip off on a cooling rack. Et voilà.
How you eat it
It’s best not to eat all of them all at once but bit by bit and shared with friends rather, although I admit it’s hard. They’re the perfect little sneaky treat.
Les Poissonchats 