3 Recipes with chestnut flour

To warm up on these cold days, getting to the cooker to prepare some delicious and pampering recipes is the right choice to make.

Here are 3 simple and delicious recipes to prepare with chestnut flour.

Did you know that the chestnut tree is an ancient plant? The first strain is said to have appeared around 10 million years ago. Farmers started calling it the “bread tree” because chestnuts are rich in nutrients and the flour was used as a cereal substitute during times of famine. 

As it isn’t a cereal, chestnut flour is naturally gluten-free.

Castagnaccio with chocolate, pine nuts and sultanas

Ingredients:

– 400gr chestnut flour,

– 50gr sugar, 

– 60gr bitter cocoa, 

– 1 small cup of Marsala, 

– 150ml lukewarm water, 

– 150ml milk,

– 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 

– 40gr pine nuts, 

– 50 g sultanas, 

– 30 g chocolate chips, rosemary.

Procedure:

Soak the sultanas in a mug with water.

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, bitter cocoa and mix everything with a fork. 

Add the liquids to the sandy mixture: oil, water, marsala and milk.

Mix everything together until smooth.

Then add the sultanas (first squeeze them well to remove the water), pine nuts and chocolate chips. 

Put the mixture into a baking tin after oiling the bottom. 

Decorate with a few sprigs of rosemary and more pine nuts. 

Bake in a ventilated oven for 35 minutes at 190° degrees. 

Remove the chocolate chips, the sugar and the cocoa from the dough to make a savoury castagnaccio to serve as an appetiser to accompany cold meats and cheeses.

Ravioli with cheese filling

Ingredients: 

– 150gr 00 flour,

– 50gr chestnut flour,

– 3 eggs, 

– Sweet Gorgonzola 

– Raschera PDO,

– Butter for seasoning. 

Procedure:

Mix the two flours well.

Pour them onto a work surface and form a mound. Place the eggs in the centre and start to mix, gradually taking the flour from the sides.

Continue working the mixture with your hands until you have a smooth, soft and homogenous dough.

With the help of a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a thin sheet.

Cut out small squares and place a cube of Gorgonzola and one of Raschera PDO in the centre.

Close the square of pastry giving it the shape of a raviolo.

Cook in boiling water.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan to season the ravioli when cooked.

Balls with chestnuts, chocolate and mascarpone cheese

Ingredients: 

– 250gr mascarpone cheese, 

– 100gr chestnut flour, 

– 100gr classic dry biscuits 

– 40gr brown sugar, 

– 200gr dark chocolate, 

– 20gr butter.

Procedure:

Finely chop the biscuits and add the mixture to the chestnut flour and sugar.

Add the mascarpone to the mixture. With your hands, form small balls and let them rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.

Meanwhile, melt the dark chocolate with the butter in a bain-marie.

To cover the balls with the melted chocolate, you can use a skewer.

Let the chocolate-covered balls rest in the refrigerator for another hour before serving.