Cookbook:Chestnut Puree

This recipe is a translation of a recipe in Ma cuisine 2 500 recettes by August Escoffier, written in French and published in 1934 (Purée de Marrons, page 522). The recipe has been reformatted in line with modern recipe writing conventions.

Ingredients

 * Whole chestnuts
 * 1 pinch white granulated sugar
 * 1 pinch salt, if needed
 * Butter
 * 1 quart (950 ml) chicken, veal, or beef stock

Procedure

 * 1) Carefully split the skin at the thin (protruding) side of the chestnuts, and place them on a baking tray that contains a little water.
 * 2) Bake chestnuts in the oven for around 7–8 minutes. This will make it easier to peel them.
 * 3) Peel the chestnuts.
 * 4) Cook the chestnuts in just enough consommé for them to be damp. The chestnuts should not be hard but not be too well cooked either.
 * 5) Pass the cooked chestnuts through a fine sieve.
 * 6) Put the puree into a saucepan, then add a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt if necessary.
 * 7) Add fine butter and turn off the heat once thick.