Chestnuts And Prunes Recipes

CHESTNUTS AND PRUNES

Steps:

• Melt butter in large skillet.
• Add chestnuts, salt and pepper to taste and ground fennel seeds.
• Simmer for a few minutes until heated thoroughly and set skillet aside.
• Place prunes in a saucepan and add port, salt, pepper and cinnamon.
• Cook over low heat until tender, 8-10 minutes.
• Add prunes to chestnuts, mix together gently and simmer 3 minutes, to warm chestnuts.

CHESTNUT-AND-SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Let bread cubes stand on a baking sheet at room temperature 3 hours to dry.
• Lay each chestnut flat on a work surface, and cut an X in the pointed tip of shell with a paring or chestnut knife. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Boil chestnuts 2 minutes; remove pot from heat. Remove chestnuts with a slotted spoon; peel away shells. Quarter nutmeat; transfer to a large bowl. Add bread.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Split sausages; scrape meat into a large saute pan set over medium heat; crumble with a fork. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 7 minutes. Add oil; swirl pan. Add onions, celery, and garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 15 to 17 minutes. Add to bread mixture.
• Add wine to pan. Scraping up any brown bits from bottom with a wooden spoon, cook over medium heat until wine is reduced by half. Add to bread mixture.
• Add stock to bread mixture; toss. Add thyme, sage, and parsley. Add the salt, and season with pepper. Stir in eggs.
• To bake stuffing: Place stuffing in a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish; cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; remove foil. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. To cook in turkey: Stuff as directed. Place remaining 5 cups stuffing in a buttered 8-inch square baking dish; bake as directed above.

ROAST GOOSE WITH CHESTNUTS, PRUNES AND ARMAGNAC

Steps:

• Combine prunes, stock, 1 1/2 cups wine and 1 cup prune juice in heavy medium saucepan. Simmer 10 minutes. Remove mixture from heat. Transfer 12 prunes to small bowl, using slotted spoon.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Pat goose dry. Pull out fat from cavity. Rub inside and out with cut side of orange. Combine salt and pepper and rub inside and outside goose. Place orange, onion, bay leaves and 12 drained prunes in goose cavity. Tie legs together. Place goose on rack in roasting pan. Pierce all over with small metal skewer or toothpick.
• Roast goose 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and roast 30 minutes longer. Remove fat from roasting pan. Combine remaining 1/4 cup wine and 1/4 cup prune juice and brush some over goose. Continue roasting goose until juices run clear when pierced in thickest part of thigh, basting goose with wine mixture and removing fat from pan occasionally, about 2 hours.
• Transfer goose to platter and tent with foil. Let stand 20 minutes.
• Strain prune poaching liquid, reserving prunes. Degrease roasting juices. Add 1/2 cup poaching liquid to roasting pan and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer to heavy medium saucepan. Add Armagnac, remaining poaching liquid and degreased roasting juices. Boil until flavors are intense, about 15 minutes. Knead butter and flour together. Whisk into sauce in small bits and simmer until thick, about 8 minutes. Add poached prunes and chestnuts and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.
• Carve goose into thin slices. Spoon sauce, chestnuts and prunes over.

PRUNE AND CHESTNUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Soak the prunes for an hour in the port. Meanwhile, prepare the chestnuts. Make a slit in the top of each one with a sharp knife. Put them in boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove them from the water a few at a time with a slotted spoon. Wearing clean rubber gloves to protect your fingers, slip off the outer and inner skins while the chestnuts are still hot. Place the chestnuts in a large bowl.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the onion, garlic, celery and thyme. Cook without browning until the onion has softened. Add the chestnuts and the prunes with the port that they have been soaking in along with the stock, and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add more stock if necessary.
• Stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper and stuff the mixture into the goose cavity. Sew up the cavity and truss the goose.

CHESTNUT, PRUNE, AND PANCETTA STUFFING

Steps:

• Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Scatter bread in a single layer in 2 large shallow baking pans (17 by 12 inches) and toast, stirring once or twice and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden and dry, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a very large bowl.
• Cook pancetta in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Add butter and heat until melted, then add celery and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 12 minutes. Stir in sage, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute. Add pancetta mixture along with chestnuts and prunes to bowl containing bread. Whisk together stock and eggs, then stir into bread mixture until combined well. Transfer to baking dish (stuffing will mound above dish).
• Bake, loosely covered with a buttered sheet of foil (buttered side down) 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake until top is browned, 10 to 15 minutes more.

CHESTNUT SOUP WITH ARMAGNAC PRUNES AND CAPPUCCINO FOAM

Steps:

• To make the Armagnac prunes, start early in the day or the night before. In a saucepan, mix 1/2 cup of water and the 1/2 cup of Armagnac or Cognac. Add prunes, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover and let steep 6 hours or overnight. Prunes can be kept in an airtight jar at room temperature until ready for use.
• To make the mushroom juice, wash the mushrooms, put them in a saucepan, cover with water and simmer for one hour. Strain, and then discard mushrooms. There should be a cup or more of mushroom juice. Refrigerate if not using immediately.
• To make the porcini powder, place dried mushrooms in a blender or coffee grinder, and pulverize. Store in an airtight container until ready for use.
• To make the soup, preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a sharp paring knife, score each chestnut by making an "X" on the round side. Place chestnuts in a single layer on a baking tray, and roast on middle level of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the shell skin curls. Remove from oven, and let rest until cool enough to handle. Peel off and discard the shells, and reserve the chestnuts.
• In a large, heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add diced celery root, and cook gently for 5 minutes without browning. Add peeled chestnuts, seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir in the sugar, raise the heat and cook a few minutes, until mixture caramelizes. Add the 1/4 cup of Armagnac or Cognac, and cook a minute. Add the mushroom juice and the chicken stock, lower heat and cook slowly for 15 minutes. Add heavy cream, and cook 5 minutes longer.
• Remove mixture from the heat, and let cool about 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or blender, making sure the lid is on tightly. Working in two batches if necessary, puree the soup. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Strain through a fine sieve. (The soup can be made up to this point a day in advance. Cover, and refrigerate.)
• Return soup to a saucepan, and reheat. Put one drained prune in each of 8 soup bowls or cups. Put skim milk in a tall, slender container, and add 1/4 teaspoon of the porcini powder and the nutmeg. Using the nozzle on an espresso machine or a separate foaming device, foam the hot milk.
• Pour equal amounts of the soup into the soup bowls, top with a scoop of the milk foam, a shaving of optional black truffle, and a parsley leaf. Serve immediately.