Chestnut flour is not just for chestnuts! Discover 7 delicious and original ways to use it in the kitchen, both in sweet and savory recipes, for dishes that smell of autumn.
Chestnut flour is a super delicious ingredient, much loved in Tuscany and which lends itself to delicious savory and sweet recipes. Famous for chestnut, there are actually many other ways to use it, today we present 5 of them!
When we think of autumn and winter, we already smell a good hot chocolate, baked chestnuts and mature cheeses. Starting from chestnut flour you can experiment with new delicious flavors in the kitchen.
Fresh pasta with chestnut flour
Are you a little tired of the same old flavors and pasta dishes? Start by renewing the main ingredient: pasta. It might seem like a lot of work to make fresh pasta, but in reality it is much simpler than you think and above all an excellent activity for your weekend, perhaps to do with your partner or your children, but also a group of close friends.
To prepare fresh pasta using chestnut flour, simply follow any traditional recipe for fresh pasta, replacing a third to a half of the wheat or semolina flour with chestnut flour.
For example, to make a half-kilo block of egg tagliatelle with chestnut flour you will need:
Potato gnocchi and chestnut flour
The same process for fresh pasta can also be used for gnocchi. In fact, combining chestnut flour in equal parts with another white flour (also for celiacs) with boiled potatoes allows you to create a soft, elastic dough ready to be formed into tasty gnocchi to be combined with a basil pesto, or a walnut sauce or a cream of peppers and cauliflower.
In short, the possibilities are truly many when you have a fragrant, scented and delicious base
Chestnut fritters or chestnut pancakes
Fritters (or pancakes for Anglophiles) are a typical dish of various cuisines around the world, with some obvious differences. The Tuscan ones have chestnut flour as their reference. Curious about how to prepare this delicious base, excellent for both savory snacks and very sweet snacks? Let’s discover the recipe together.
To get started you will need:
The steps to follow are as follows:
- Sift the chestnut flour into a bowl, to which add the yeast
- In a cup, put some hot water and add a pinch of salt and sugar to help the mixture rise
- Add the cup of water to the flour with the yeast and mix until you get a creamy mixture, you can decide to let it rest for half an hour if you have extra time
- Grease a pan with seed oil and add the mixture with a ladle, creating a single layer of dough
- Impact and season with jam, spreadable cheese or whatever you like at that moment
Muffins with chestnut flour
Chestnut flour is an excellent helper to other flours, as we saw with the pasta and gnocchi recipe. This is because it retains a lot of moisture in the ingredients, making everything softer and more fragrant.
For this, you can add 2 tablespoons of chestnut flour for every 250 grams of the flour you use as a base for your desserts. This way, you will help the dough to be softer and you will get a pleasant chestnut aftertaste in all your preparations.
Gluten-free plumcake
One of the advantages of chestnut flour is that it is gluten-free, to the delight of all celiacs. The plum cake is excellent both on its own and as a base for an organic jam, perhaps prepared with your own hands.
The ingredients you need are very common. You will need:
To prepare the mixture, mix the yogurt, oil and eggs in a bowl. After that, combine the dry ingredients, namely flour, yeast, raisins and salt. After mixing well and obtaining a homogeneous mixture, grease a plum cake pan and bake it at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.
In addition to your wonderful dessert, you will give your home a festive and heartening scent.
Bread with Chestnut Flour
For a rustic and aromatic bread, mix 200 g of chestnut flour and 300 g of spelled or buckwheat flour in a bowl, adding 1 teaspoon of salt. Dissolve 10 g of fresh brewer’s yeast (or 5 g of dry brewer’s yeast) in 300 ml of warm water, with the optional addition of 1 teaspoon of honey or sugar to aid leavening. Pour the water into the flours and knead until you obtain a homogeneous mixture. Let the dough rise for about 2 hours, covered with a damp cloth, in a warm place. After leavening, shape the bread, place it on a baking tray and let it rest for another 30 minutes. Bake at 200°C for about 30-35 minutes, until the bread is golden and fragrant.
Chestnut crepes
For soft and tasty crepes, here are the doses:
For the crepes, beat an egg with 200 ml of milk (even vegetable milk, such as almond or oat) in a bowl. Add 100 g of sifted chestnut flour and a pinch of salt or a teaspoon of sugar, depending on whether you prefer a salty or sweet taste, and mix until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous batter. For a softer crepe, you can add a spoonful of vegetable oil or melted butter. Heat a non-stick pan and pour a ladle of batter, cooking the crepes on both sides until golden. Fill as desired with jams, sweet creams or ricotta and vegetables for a savory version.
Did you like these chestnut flour recipes? Experiment with your own versions to discover the full potential of this delicious ingredient.
