| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Passive Time | 5 minutes |
| Servings |
6
|
- 1 kg baby onions (pearl onions)
- 1/2 kg mushrooms white button
- 1/2 cup wine white
- 1 kg chestnuts fresh
- 4 tomatoes
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 berries allspice whole
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pink peppercorns whole
- 1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns whole
- 8-10 juniper berries ground
- 2 litres water lukewarm
- 1/2 cup olive oil Greek extra virgin
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat the oven to 200°C or 392°F.
- Rinse the chestnuts in cold water; wipe them off with a clean damp cloth. Using a small sharp knife cut a cross at the top of the chestnut. Chestnuts are slippery, so be careful; place the chestnut on a cutting board or onto a dish towel and grasp it firmly before cutting. Spread the chestnuts evenly on a large baking sheet and roast in the oven for 20'. The roasted chestnuts must be kept warm — the outer shell and internal skin peel much easier. Remove the sheet from the oven and close the oven door (the oven is off). Cover with a towel and allow them to cool enough for you to handle them. You can wear gloves to make handling the hot chestnuts easier. Wrap half of the chestnuts in a towel and place the sheet with the other half inside the warm oven with the oven door open. The shell splits open at the cut, the cross cut portion bursts open, this make it easier to peel. After half of the chestnuts are peeled, remove the sheet from the oven and peel the other half. By peeling a small portion of chestnuts at a time and by leaving the rest inside a warm oven with the oven door open and covered with a clean towel, you keep your roasted chestnuts warm.
- Rinse the baby onions. Trim the root ends of the onions. In a large bowl filled with boiling hot water blanch the baby onion for 1'-2'. Squeeze the onions over a bowl to peel them; the onions slip out of their skin.
- Rinse the tomatoes thoroughly under cold water. In a large bowl filled with boiling hot water blanch them for 1'-2'. Remove them from the water. Using a knife remove the stem and peel the skin. Halve the tomatoes, remove the seeds and finely dice the flesh.
- Gently wipe the mushrooms with a slightly damp cloth and peel them. Do not cut them.
- Sauté the baby onions using lukewarm water; place the baby onions in the pot, set on medium heat. The water should cover the bottom of the pot but it should not cover the baby onions. Let the baby onions soften in the pot. Sauté until starting to soften; check with a fork. Put the mushrooms in the pot. After a few minutes, the mushrooms release all their liquids, so you do not have to add extra water.
- When the liquid is evaporated, it is time to pour wine over them. Let it evaporate and then add the chestnuts and diced tomatoes to the pot.
- When the liquid from the tomatoes is almost, but not completely, absorbed and the sauce begins to thicken, add the seasoning. Simmer until the sauce is ready. Pour the olive oil, and immediately remove from heat. Do not stir the stew, but only gently shake the pot.
Wine and Food Pairing
Pair the perfect wines with this holiday main course and enjoy an exciting gastronomic experience!
Match a medium to light bodied red wine with fresh flavors with the festive chestnut and mushroom stew; this stew works very well with young red wines, because they achieve a perfect balance together, where both food and wine are equally enhanced.
Also, the festive chestnut and mushroom stew calls for a semi-sparkling wine (not a fully sparkling wine, champagne). Chestnut and mushroom stew and semi-sparkling wine are the perfect pair; the clean finish of the wine serves as a complement to the hearty flavors of the stew.
Gluten-free
Gluten-free recipes for the festive season do not need to be fun-free! If you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, you are on a gluten-free diet, and you feel left out at a festive feast and excluded at a holiday gathering, you can rest assured that the festive chestnut and mushroom stew is going to please everyone at the holiday table! My festive chestnut and mushroom stew recipe is a hit at the holiday table!
Festive Recipe
My festive chestnut and mushroom stew has a reputation for appealing to the most discerning palates. I firmly believe that my chestnut and mushroom stew recipe is one of the best from my festive recipe collection. This is an enticing meat-free, vegan, and gluten-free main course recipe for the festive season; it makes a mouth-watering, hearty, healthy, and gut-friendly main dish for Christmas or Thanksgiving or any other festive occasion. It is a gluten-free and vegan recipe that everyone will enjoy and love; festive chestnut and mushroom stew recipe ensures that your holiday guests, your friends and family love the meal. Chestnut and mushroom stew is the quintessence of winter flavors: savory chestnuts, sweet baby onions, rich-fleshed winter tomatoes and earthy mushrooms combined with an oriental aroma of spices — a true privilege for the most discerning palates that appreciate the quality of seasonal produce. Winter produce offers a surprising range of flavors; chestnut and mushroom stew bursts with comforting winter flavors and highlights the more traditional winter flavors and scents and thus it is perfect for consumers who seek to buy seasonal vegetables. I have employed the healthy water sauté cooking method that unveils the vegetables’ flavors, releases the flavors of the olive oil as it is added last to the stew, makes the food incredibly filling but without making you feel bloated. Water-sautéing is one of my secrets to healthy cooking. Chestnut and mushroom stew is a healthy main dish perfect for lunch and dinner.
How to roast and peel chestnuts
Rinse the chestnuts in cold water; wipe them off with a clean damp cloth. Using a small sharp knife cut a cross at the top of the chestnut. Chestnuts are slippery, so be careful; place the chestnut on a cutting board or onto a dish towel and grasp it firmly before cutting. Spread the chestnuts evenly on a large baking sheet and roast in the oven for 20'. The roasted chestnuts must be kept warm — the outer shell and internal skin peel much easier. Remove the sheet from the oven and close the oven door (the oven is off). Cover with a towel and allow them to cool enough for you to handle them. You can wear gloves to make handling the hot chestnuts easier. Wrap half of the chestnuts in a towel and place the sheet with the other half inside the warm oven with the oven door open. The shell splits open at the cut, the cross cut portion bursts open, this make it easier to peel. After half of the chestnuts are peeled, remove the sheet from the oven and peel the other half. By peeling a small portion of chestnuts at a time and by leaving the rest inside a warm oven with the oven door open and covered with a clean towel, you keep your roasted chestnuts warm.
Love the sound of this recipe. Going to make it for Christmas Eve. I want to peel the chestnuts a couple weeks in advance. Should I cook them further? can they be frozen? And can the whole recipe be made in advance and frozen?
Hello! You can prepare the chestnuts ahead of time and freeze them. You can store your roasted and peeled chestnuts in the freezer in an airtight container for up to a year! This stew is not a make-ahead freezer meal. Sign up to my newsletter to get more recipes like this delivered straight to your inbox. Bon appétit!