Cambia lingua:
Italiano
Chestnuts are delicious and healthy autumn-winter nuts that can be enjoyed in many different ways. From boiled to roasted, from mashed to candied, chestnuts are one of the most underrated ingredients of all. Today we created a vegan chestnut pesto that is packed with nutty, sweet and earthy notes, and can be enjoyed as a delicious pasta dressing, or as an indulgent, guilt free breakfast spread on your favourite crunchy toasted bread.
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🥬 Ingredients & substitutions
Chestnuts: we recommend getting raw, fresh chestnut in your local supermarket for best results. They are available in most places during autumn and winter in the northern hemisphere.
Hazelnuts: are the perfect flavour match to the chestnuts. Get unsalted roasted and peeled hazelnuts for best result. If you want to splurge, get imported hazelnut from Piemonte, Italy.
Bread crumbs: 1 to 2 days old bread would work here. If you don't have it, just get some fresh bread, and add the crumb in the blender to turn it into bread crumbs.
Nutritional Yeast: to add umami and saltiness to the pesto. It goes incredibly well together with the chestnuts.
Soy milk: it's important to get unsweetened and unflavoured soy milk. Look at the ingredient list on the box, it should only contain soy beans, water and a little salt.
Salt: we need just a pinch or two of good fine sea salt, if you have it.
📋 Recipe Card
Chestnuts & Hazelnuts Pesto
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup chestnuts
- 2 tablespoons hazelnuts
- 1 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
- ¾ cup unsweetened soy milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Wash 1 cup of chestnuts, then in a large pot, put them to boil with plenty of water.
- Boil for 50 minutes, then drain, and peel them with a paring knife. Remove the outer shell and the thin brown skin under the outer shell. Don't worry if they break, we'll blend them in a second.
- Blend all the ingredients together until you have a smooth cream. You can make the cream more or less smooth based on your preference. We like it smooth but with a grainy texture.
- Serve as a pesto dressing for a delicious pasta, or as a spread on some toasted bread for a delicious and healthy breakfast.
YouTube Video
Nutritional Values
👨🏻🍳 Top tips
Don't undercook the chestnuts
For best results, make sure your chestnuts are cooked through. The best way to be sure the chestnuts are cooked is to set a time to 45 minutes, then take a chestnut out, cool it down under running water, peal it and taste it. The chestnut should be very soft, and not with a bite. If not ready, boil for a further 10 minutes at a time.
Don't over-blend
This pesto is best served smooth, but not velvety. You want to have some little pieces of chestnuts here and there. So don't keep your blender on for too long, and taste the pesto for texture while blending.
📖 Serving suggestions
The best way to try this vegan chestnut pesto is to serve it with some spaghetti and mushrooms. The mushrooms will elevate the flavour of the chestnuts. It will be one of the best pastas you'll ever have.
Another great way is with vegan gnocchi. The chestnuts pesto will coat them perfectly for a creamy and cozy meal. Here's the recipe for homemade ones.
The chestnut pesto is also great as a kind of hummus or spread. You can eat it next to your favourite roasted vegetables, or spread it on a toasted slice of sourdough bread. Delicious!
🥫 Storage
The chestnut pesto keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
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If you have any tips or questions let us know in the comments below!
Cambia lingua:
Italiano
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