Cookery for every household

To Prepare the Chestnuts. — First remove the outer shell and the inner brown skin from the chestnuts. There are different ways of doing this : (1) Wash the chestnuts, make a small slit in the rounded side of each with the point of a knife, put them into a saucepan with cold water to cover them, bring them to the boil, and boil 2 or 3 minutes. Then draw the saucepan to the side of the fire and keep them warm without boiling. Take a few at a time from the water and with the point of a knife remove the two skins. An old saucepan should be used for this, as the chestnuts cause discoloration. (2) Make a slit in the side of the chestnuts to prevent their bursting, and put them on a tin in the oven for 8 or 10 minutes. Then take out a few at a time and remove the skins with the point of a knife. Care must be taken that the chestnuts do not brown, especially for certain dishes ; so, if the oven is very hot, put a little water in the tin to avoid this. The skins can be removed most easily when the chestnuts are very hot ; it is better, therefore, when a large quantity is required, to prepare only a few of them at a time. Have ready | pint brown sauce, put the prepared chestnuts into this and let them stew until tender. Note. — Other sauces may be used in the same way. Time to stew, | hour. Probable cost, 6 d. to 8 d. 1626. Chestnuts with Parsley Sauce 1 lb. chestnuts. 1 oz. butter. 1 tea-sp. flour. 1 tea-cupful milk. 1 yolk of egg. Salt. Pepper. 1 dessert-sp. chopped parsley. Prepare and boil the chestnuts as directed above, and remove from them the outer and inner skins. Melt the butter in a saucepan, put in the chestnuts, sprinkle them with the flour, and cook a few minutes without allowing the contents to brown. Then add the milk and seasonings, and stir until smooth. Cook for a few minutes, then remove the saucepan from the fire and stir in the yolk of egg and parsley. Serve at once in a hot dish. Probable cost, 6 d. 1627. Chestnut Croquettes (Croquettes de Marrons) Take some cooked chestnuts, shell and peel them and rub them through a sieve. Put the puree into a saucepan, season with pepper and salt, add a small piece of butter, and moisten with enough milk or stock to make a thickish paste. Beat well until perfectly smooth, and turn on to a plate to cool. Then divide the paste into small pieces the size of a chestnut, and form them with a little flour into the shape of the nut. Now egg and breadcrumb them and fry in boiling fat. These croquettes can also be made with the prepared chestnut meal, now sold in packets. Moisten the meal with enough milk or stock to make it of the proper consistency, and cook it for a few minutes over the fire, seasoning with pepper and salt and adding a small piece of butter at the last. Then cool and proceed as above. 1628. Puree of Chestnuts (Puree de Marrons) 1J lbs. chestnuts. i 1 pt. light stock. 1 oz. butter. | Seasoning. Prepare the chestnuts as in Recipe 1625, removing the outer and inner skins. Put them into a saucepan with the butter and stock and let them stew slowly until they are quite tender. Then rub as much as possible through a wire sieve and return the purge to the saucepan to re-heat, adding seasoning to taste. The addition of a little cream is an improvement.