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–+ servings
chestnut pasta with sautèed mushrooms

Chestnut Pasta

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Boiling chestnuts (optional): 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 17 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Author: Nico Pallotta

For the chestnuts & hazelnuts pesto

  • 1 cup (160 grams) chestnuts boiled or steamed, or 2 cups raw chestnuts
  • 1 cup (240 grams) milk or unsweetened non-dairy milk
  • ¼ cup (30 grams) hazelnuts
  • 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast

For the pasta dish

  • 12 ounces (340 grams) spaghetti + 1 gallon of water to cook the pasta and 1 tablespoon of salt to season the water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 9 ounces (250 grams) brown mushrooms
  • 1 clove garlic
  • ⅓ teaspoon salt
  • 1 handful flat-leaf parsley

FOR THE PESTO

  • You can either boil the chestnuts yourself or use store-bought pre-boiled or steamed chestnuts to speed things up.
    To boil the chestnuts: wash 2 cups of raw chestnuts, then boil them for 50 minutes.
    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.
    boiled chestnuts
  • Blend 1 cup chestnuts (boiled or steamed + peeled) with 1 cup milk, ¼ cup hazelnuts, 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, ½ teaspoon salt, and 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese until you have a thick cream, almost like a hummus.
    Note: depending on the chestnuts, you might need to add one or two tablespoons of extra milk to get the blender going.
    blending all ingredients

FOR THE PASTA DISH

  • Cook 12 ounces spaghetti in plenty of salted boiling water as as instructed on the package, minus 1 minute.
    Reserve two cups of pasta cooking water before draining the pasta.
    Chestnut_Pesto_Step-5
  • While the pasta boils, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a non-stick pan.
    Add 1 clove garlic (grated) and 9 ounces brown mushrooms (thinly sliced).
    Cook the mushrooms on medium heat for 8 minutes, season with ⅓ teaspoon salt
    Add the chestnut pesto and 1 cup of reserved pasta water.
    Stir to dissolve the pesto. Add more pasta water if necessary.
    chestnut pesto sauce
  • Add the spaghetti to the pan and stir well.
    Add 1 handful flat-leaf parsley (chopped) and finish cooking the pasta until creamy and al dente. If the sauce is too thick, add more pasta water.
    spaghetti in the pan with the sauce
  • Portion into serving plates, sprinkle with more parsley, and serve hot.
    creamy chestnut mushroom pasta on a plate
Nutritional information is an estimate for 1 serving out of 4.
TIPS
  • Use pre-boiled or pre-steamed chestnuts to save time as peeling chestnuts can be time consuming.
  • Add more milk or water if the sauce is too thick when blending it.
STORAGE
Fridge: Chestnut pesto (without spaghetti) can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for three days.
Reheat the chestnut pesto in a pot on the stovetop with some water.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Hazelnuts: Substitute with macadamia nuts, almonds, or pine nuts.
Bread crumbs: Substitute panko bread crumbs.
Parmesan: Substitute nutritional yeast to make the recipe vegan.
Milk: Substitute with unsweetened non-dairy milk to make the recipe vegan.
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