Autumn has arrived... It's time for chestnuts! It's an excellent ingredient for many sweet and savoury recipes.
My choice fell on "Monte Bianco", a dessert my mother used to make when I was a kid and I still enjoy years later.
Montebianco (Montblanc in French) is a simple and genuine dessert of Italian-French origin that is very popular in Piedmont and Lombardy. It is made with chestnut puree, whipped cream and cocoa powder, the shape of which resembles that of a snow-covered mountain.
Ingredients:
800 g of chestnuts
50 g of sugar
salt
3 tbs of cocoa
1 tsp of cinnamon
500 ml of milk
1 small glass of rum (optional)
Whipped cream (500 ml)
Info:
🍷 Recommended Wine: Pond Paddock Martina Chardonnay
👩🏻🍳 Cuisine: Italian 🇮🇹 and french 🇫🇷
👨👩👧👧 Yield: 4 servings
⏰ Time
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 25 minutes
Resting :
😰 Level: easy
💰 Cost (NZ): $$$$
Method:
Wash the chestnuts under running water, drain them well. Make a dent on each chestnut, cutting a small piece of the peel with a sharp knife.
Place the chestnuts in a large pan full of water. Boil them for about 30 minutes or 10 minutes if you use a pressure cooker.
Drain the boiled chestnuts and peel them, including their thin brown skin.
In a saucepan, collect the chestnuts and add the milk.
Cook the mixture; as soon as it starts to boil, lower the heat and cover with a lid, stirring from time to time for about 25 minutes. During that time, try to crush the chestnuts as much as possible with a wooden spoon.
Just before the mixture thickens, add the sugar, rum, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Stir and remove from the heat.
Blend the mixture with a blender, until you get a smooth and thick chestnut puree, free of lumps.
Let it cool to room temperature.
Place the chestnut puree in a potato masher. Mash it onto a serving dish, in order to obtain a “mountain” of vermicelli.
Cover the “mountain” with a layer of whipped cream.
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