Chestnuts were a staple food for people living in the Italian mountains. They were boiled, roasted, dried or ground into flour and used for a variety of dishes sweet or savory. Rich in calories they helped through the cold winter when wheat flour was not available. This dish is fun to prepare and perfect to liven up a cold afternoon. First step: how to roast the chestnuts. Don’t forget to cut the skin with a long incision on the rounded side. If you practice a long, precise slit, it will be easier to get rid of the skin once the chestnuts are roasted. This is a step you can’t skip, if left whole the chestnuts on the fire will explode. In my family is still recalled the episode of my grandfather and my brother hiding under the kitchen table to avoid the exploding chestnuts, having forgotten to cut them. They can be roasted on an open fire in the special pan with holes or in an oven for about forty minutes. When done they will be brown-black on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. Once peeled from the skins, place them in an heath proof plate, sprinkle with abundant sugar and half a glass of a warm liquor of your choice ( our favorite is grappa) and a couple of laurel leaves. Light with a match: the alcohol will catch fire and if you stir slowly the chestnuts around the plate the fire will go on until the alcohol is burned out. The chestnuts will be warm, candied and delicious, and everybody will enjoy watching the bluish flames in the dark room. Click here for an Italian recipe online collection from Le Marche region
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