Now In Season

Meet Chestnut Charlie

Chestnut Charlie is a terrific local source of high-quality, certified organic chestnuts. Chestnut Charlie is the trade name for Charles NovoGradac and his wife, Deborah Milks. Their 20-acre demonstration farm is located 3 miles north of downtown Lawrence, just 1/2 mile north of the landmark TePee Junction. This year Charlie and Debbie are expecting a record crop and have never seen their trees so full of chestnuts. If all goes well, they hope to restore this traditional and healthful food to the modern table.

Chestnuts are not oily like most nuts. They are more aptly described as, "a grain that grows on trees." Chestnuts are principally complex carbohydrates, essential nutrients, minerals, fiber and some high-quality balanced protein. They are also cholesterol-free.

Buying and Storing Chestnuts
Choose chestnuts that are plump, shiny, and are a dark, rich color. Chestnuts are perishable and should be found in the produce section of your local market. Room temperature chestnuts are likely imported, probably haven’t been kept refrigerated, and you can’t tell if they are bad just by looking at them.

Store your chestnuts in plastic bags or mesh bags that allow transpiration without condensation. At the orchard Charlie and Debbie harvest daily and promptly refrigerate in their walk-in cooler in mesh bags. If stored properly, you can keep chestnuts in the refrigerator until Christmas and beyond, although the chestnuts do tend to dry some (and sweeten) over time.

Preparation
Chestnuts need to be peeled, which like any nut, can be a chore. Luckily, Chinese chestnuts, the variety grown by Chestnut Charlie, are not only sweeter, they are easier to peel than most European varieties. Here are 2 easy options for peeling:

Boiling:
Boil whole chestnuts for five minutes, remove a few at a time, chop in half with a heavy knife and peel with your fingers. Sometimes the half-kernel will just pop out if you give it a little squeeze. The skins will impart a tannic flavor to the water, so if you are doing a quantity, change the water occasionally. Boiling makes the nuts softer and easier to purée.

Roasting:
First, using a sharp knife or chestnut knife, make an incision about 1/8 inch deep through the shell. Traditionalists cut a shallow "X" on one side. Place in a covered pan and bake in the oven at 350˚ until the nuts are tender, about 20 minutes. Roasting is best for bringing out the flavor of the nuts for cooking and chestnuts are fairly easy to peel hot from the oven.
Tip: Chestnuts can blow up, like popcorn, so to avoid too much fun and excitement, don’t forget to pierce the skin.

Chestnuts are versatile and work well in both savory and sweet dishes.

Mushrooms and Chestnuts
Debbie says, "My aunt found this recipe in an old Shaker cookbook. It is a good bet that the Shakers would have gathered wild mushrooms in the same forest where they gathered chestnuts."

• 2 cups chestnuts, peeled, cut into quarters
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms, quartered
• 1 Tbs. flour
• 1 1/2 cups light cream
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 Tbs. parsley, chopped

Heat butter in skillet and cook quartered mushrooms until lightly browned. Blend in flour; slowly add cream and seasonings. Add chestnuts. Heat thoroughly and garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 3-4.

• 4 cups shelled, raw chestnut meats (about 2 pounds, peeled)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 ounces rum
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Juice of 1 orange
• Currant jelly or other type of berry jelly

Boil the shelled chestnuts for 15 minutes or until very tender, drain. Process until smooth, while still hot, in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a bowl, add vanilla, rum and powdered sugar, mix well and chill thoroughly.

Whip the cream in a cold bowl with a hand mixer until stiff and gradually add the orange juice. Now add the chestnut mixture and beat all together thoroughly. Return to refrigerator until cold and serve with a teaspoon of jelly over the top. (Recipe adapted from the Michigan Nut Growers Assoc. Cookbook, The Nut Jar)