9.1.08

Holy chestnuts!



Chestnuts: I'm a sucker for those little things. Chestnuts are overly popular in Portugal - around Lisbon, street sellers have them roasted on open fires all over the city, from early Autumn till now. A short while before Christmas, some friends gave me a huge pack and it sat in my kitchen for most the season, without any spare time to take care of those beauties. Chestnuts can be roasted in the oven with salt, eaten straight away or used to cook. Just a few days ago, I finally spend a 'funny' morning roasting my chestnuts, removing coats and making them ready to freeze. In the meanwhile, I've cooked us this spicy chicken for lunch.

Curry Chicken with Chestnuts

Serves 2

1 small onion
2 Tbsp organic tomato paste
12-14 chestnuts
1 garlic glove
1/2 tsp Red Thai curry paste (adjust to your taste)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp yogurt
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp raisins
2 small chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup chicken broth or water
salt and black pepper pimenta, to taste

In a food processor, chop onion and garlic with tomato paste. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion, garlic and tomato paste mixture to pan and stir often, about 2 minutes. Stir in curry paste and chestnuts. Mix in cubed chicken and season to taste. Stir for 5 minutes. Add chicken broth; bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. When broth resumes, stir in yogurt and raisins and half cilantro leaves, finely chopped. Remove from heat after a couple of minutes, add lemon juice and remaining cilantro. Serve with boiled green beans.

3 comments:

Mansi said...

Thanks for your lovely comment Suzanna:) I have never roasted chestnuts at home...but your dish is inspiring me...and it looks great with the veggies:)

and I hope you have something to send in to my event!:)

Thistlemoon said...

That sounds WONDERFUL. I too adore these little beauties, but they are hard to come by here in Florida. Roberto remembers them all over the streets of Rome during the winter, so we try to have them ever winter too.

Suzana Parreira said...

Hi Mansi, chestnuts are versatile enough to combine well with veggies - I use it in risotto and it tastes delicious. :)

Hey Jenn, food memories must be kept. Hope you can find them around for Roberto! :)