Chestnuts are a wonderfully versatile food, you can use them in sweet or savory dishes.  1kg of chestnuts will yield about 700g of peeled nut. They will keep in the crisper section of your fridge for about 2 weeks if covered in a paper bag.

When purchasing chestnuts look for nuts that are heavy for their size and if they rattle when shaken put them back as it’s a sign they are bad.

There is a little preparation involved when using chestnuts as they have 2 layers of skin, a hard outer layer and a thinner inner layer around the chestnut. Before cooking, lay the chestnut down on its flat side and cut a small cross through the outer and inner layer of skin.

You can cook chestnuts a variety of ways:

Roasting – Place on a tray with the cut side facing up and bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes

Boil – Place in a pan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Barbecue – You can place them on the barbecue plate and lower the lid. The skins may blacken so turn them regularly and cook for 20 minutes.

Once the chestnuts have been cooked let them cool slightly for 3-4 minutes then peel off both layers of skin. They must be peeled warm as when they are cold its impossible to peel off the skins.

Once they are peeled they are ready to use.