Veronica on Working hard on the cottage We are still happily settled in our little house in France, but have taken to spending a few months in Spain in the winter. At first we tried differen… Make a slit in the skin of the chestnut and roast in a hot oven. Once cooked, and while the chestnuts are still hot, carefully peel the hard exterior shell and fine skin.

Peeling chestnuts is one of those things that are good for your karma if you can get through the process without throwing things at the wall. The minimum requirement is a long radio play to keep you sane while you are doing it. Fiona Nevile on Working hard on the cottage Dear Veronica, So good to hear from you. I'd love to hear all your news - I often think about you and wonder how it's going for you both... Yes, it's… We believe great bartending is about hospitality and caring about your craft. We’re here to help our industry learn and grow through sharing what we learn and creating great craft bar tools. Our story.Lila Wiese on Perennial vegetables: Tree cabbage Maybe I missed someone stating this but is it possible to obtain seeds for this in the US? Cut a cross-hatch into each of the chestnuts and roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes. We make a wide range of fruit liqueurs every year but have never made a nut one. I was delighted to find this recipe for Italian sweet chestnut liqueur when I was nosing about on the Internet last week. If you find any joy, use or help in it, please consider a modest donation - however much you can afford when it comes from the heart, it's the kind of gesture that makes me warm with appreciation. From Saint-Tropez, I drove the first of the winding roads past the town of Grimaud to La Garde-Freinet, a village perched high over the coast where the bric-a-brac shops and galleries sandwiched between family-run restaurants reveal a gentler pace of life than the Riviera. I climbed up to the ruined medieval fort on the hill behind and looked down upon the jumble of terracotta roofs and amber and peach-hued streets.

The first step involves roasting the chestnuts, preferably on a bed of coal or over a fire to give the chestnut a slightly smoky flavour. The second step begins with making demerara syrup and leaving it to cool before everything comes together. It is then left to macerate for a minimum period of time. Once the desired flavour is reached, the chestnuts are removed and the liquid is fine strained to remove any solids. The liqueur will most likely have a cloudy appearance. Running it through a coffee filter will remove some of the opacity but will also strip some of the flavour. How to Make Chestnut Liqueur Don’t cut through the chestnut while making a slit, only the skin. You want the heat to penetrate and steam cook the nut. There are two recipes: a more indulgent, creamy variety and a lighter version. Today we’re sharing both, but we can already imagine which one you’ll go for. The creamy, indulgent chestnut liqueur Ingredients While roasting chestnuts in a hot oven or griller works well, cooking them over fire or charcoal yields a more pronounced smoky note which adds flavour to the liqueur.

Don’t discard the macerated chestnuts. They can be used in desserts or dehydrated and used as garnish.

Boil the chestnuts until they become soft, then let them cool and peel them. Immerse them in the liquor and let them macerate while covered tightly for about 20 days. After this period, prepare a syrup by dissolving the sugar in boiling water. Let it cool, then add it to the filtered liquor. Either all or part of the chestnuts can be pureed and added to the liqueur to make it very creamy. The classic, lightweight chestnut liqueur Fiona Nevile on Fiona’s traditional elderflower cordial recipe Hi Peta, Yes it does ferment a little = that is what you want. Simmering would kill the brew. Chestnut liqueur is the perfect way to finish off an autumnal Italian dinner: one because it’s also a digestivo, and two because it’s not fall if there are no chestnuts on the table, right? With Thanksgiving upon us and then Christmas around the corner, this is the right time to make this liqueur as a gift for friends! Fiona Nevile on Perennial vegetables: Tree cabbage Hi Lila, Thanks for your comment. You need to look for seeds on your side of the water, unfortunately :0( Import rewsrictions are tough. Something sim… As with many autumn festivals across France – such as Normandy’s apple, cider and cheese festival, the Basque country’s Espelette pepper celebration, and many a grape harvest fete – it’s a chance for locals to don traditional costumes, for bands to ring out ancient tunes and everyone to get merry on the local liqueur.In this recipe, brandy is used as the base alcohol. If using high proof rectified spirit, the maceration time will be reduced. Hi, I was given a huge bag of chestnuts in the autumn and froze them whole (following advice read here). Veronica on Working hard on the cottage Oh ... only just found this! What a wrench to leave your beautiful cottage, I hope whoever moves in loves it as much as you do. Iy's such a special pl… Mine has been left for two weeks now and the flavour of the chestnuts is coming through nicely. The liqueur itself is a bit on the murky side but I can live with this, especially as it is used mostly in mixes. The chestnuts themselves taste rather splendid and you can take them out and eat them after a few weeks. Filter through a cheesecloth and fine strainer to extract as much water and oil out of the nuts as possible. Discard the nuts.