2 lb. chestnuts
2 oz. dry breadcrumbs
4 oz. butter
½ pint good beef or poultry stock
½ bay leaf
Salt or black pepper
1 tea spoon soft brown sugar
1 egg
Slit the skin of each chestnut and either roast them in an oven for 20-25 minutes or boil them in water for about 20 minutes. Peel off the outer skin and the bitter, furry inner skin. Put the chestnuts into a thick saucepan with the pint stock and the bay leaf and simmer gently, stirring often, until they are soft. This will take about 30 minutes.
When they are ready, remove bay leaf and sieve with any stock left in pan. Mix in the breadcrumbs and beat in the butter. This is not hard work provided the chestnuts are hot. Taste the mixture and add sufficient salt, freshly ground black pepper, and the sugar. Stir it well together and at the last add the well-beaten egg. This stuffing is admirable with any form of braised or roast turkey.
(Incidentally, I usually cheat and make it with unsweetened chestnut purée.)
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