Roasted Chestnuts, Nut Roast en Croûte , Greek Green Beans Eggplant Stacks, Roasted Beets,

Roasted Chestnuts 
No open fire?  You can still roast chestnuts for the holidays and holiday dishes -- in your oven.  Chestnuts are not cheap, but they are good value because a little goes a long way.

Chestnuts
Oven
Sharp Knife

Preheat the oven to 425F.

With a sharp knife cut an X through the skin in the rounded part of each chestnut.  This critical step keeps the nuts from exploding from internal pressure as they roast!  Place the nuts on a pan, and roast them 15-20 minutes until the Xs peel open and the meats are softened.  Time will vary depending on the nuts themselves. 

Remove the roasted nuts to a kitchen/tea towel.  Wrap them up and squeeze hard.  The nuts should crackle, loosening the crisped shells.  Let them set for a few minutes to cool.  Then pull, snap, and remove the dark skin and another, papery, skin between the outer skin and the nut.

Roasted peeled nuts will last in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container.  To store for a week or more, put them in a breathable container, or freeze them.  So what am I going to do with my roasted Chestnuts?  Look here:

Nut Roast en Croûte 

Best dish I have made in a long time!!! 

From Michelle at The Last Food Blog, recommended by our friend Fiona Barnes. To make this great recipe, you'll either need a package of frozen pre-made dough or a batch of Shortcrust Pastry (see below) which is simple and cheaper to make than to buy.   I made this beauty in my Ninja Flip Air-Fry Oven:

Filling Ingredients
1 tbsp EVOO
1 Onion diced
2 Carrots peeled and diced
8 oz Mushrooms chopped
¾ lb Butternut Squash cubed
3 cloves Garlic minced
1 Tbsp minced Rosemary
1/2 Tbsp dried Oregano
1/2 Tbsp Sage
6 oz Mixed Nuts – walnuts, almonds, cashews
6 oz chopped roasted Chestnuts
1 large Egg
3 oz Feta cheese
1 tsp cracked Black Pepper
½ cup Breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly grease a baking tray with olive oil,  or lay down a sheet of parchment paper.

In a large pan sauté the onion and carrot until  soft. Add the mushrooms, squash, salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Now add the garlic and herbs and crumble in the chestnuts. Cook for about 5 minutes more then take it off the heat and leave to cool.

While the mixture is cooling, toast the nuts in a large frying pan for about 5 minutes. Whirr them in the food processor to get a rough crumble. Add the nuts to the squash and mushroom pan.  This can even be done the day before and refrigerated overnight...

Now, add the breadcrumbs, feta and egg to the mixture and mix well. Reserve.

Roll the  pastry out into a 10" x 13" rectangle on a piece of waxed paper.. 

Put the filling onto the pastry and shape it into a “sausage”, leaving room along the edges -- enough room for the pastry to fold over. 

Fold the pastry over the filling, then fold up the ends. Turn the en croûte upside down onto the baking tray.

Brush the pastry with the milk then place on the middle shelf in the oven for 40-45 minutes, turning the tray around halfway through cooking.  

Let it rest a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Shortcrust Pastry
This classic recipe is used for all sorts of things -- tart crusts, en croute, and much more...  This recipe makes a nice slab of dough about 10 x 13.  The secret to good shortcrust (especially here in Florida) is to keep everything cold -- pre-chill the mixing bowl, ice cubes floating in the water, really cold butter, cold hands... the works.

2-1/4 cups AP Flour
2/3 cup Butter or Margarine -- I use Oliviotm
Pinch of Salt
6 Tbsp Ice Water

I mix the flour and salt in the mixing bowl then chill that for 15 minutes.  Quickly measure and cut in (with your cold hands) the butter.  Then add the water a tablespoon at a time while stirring with a fork. 

Continue stirring and the dough will come together in clumps.  Mash it all together, in the cold bowl, until you get a lump of dough, wrap that in clingfilm and return to the fridge for a 15 minute chill-down before rolling out.

Greek Green Beans
I had a huge batch of green beans, as well as a partial basket of cherry tomatoes that needed to be used up.  This is a good thing to do to them...

1 to 1-1/2 lbs Green Beans topped & tailed
1 Onion sliced into strips
18 Cherry Tomatoes, halved
4-6 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/4 cup Marinara or 1 Tbsp Tomato paste
2 cups Vegetable Broth + 2 cups Water
Dried Basil, Rosemary, Oregano and Sage to taste -- at least 1/2 tsp of each

Saute the onions in a splash of EVOO for a couple minutes, then add the green beans, garlic and a dash of each spice.  Add the broth and water.  Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the beans are getting tender.  

Now add the marinara sauce and cherry tomatoes and continue simmering, uncovered until the liquid reduces and thickens.   Taste and adjust the spices as needed.

Eggplant Stacks
I found this giant round eggplant at a farmer's market the other day, and for $1,  I couldn't pass it up.  

We both love a simplified version of Eggplant Parmesan which I make, that we call  Eggplant Stacks.

Eggplant  sliced into 1/2" to 3/4" thick rounds
Greek or Italian seasoning, to taste
Parmesan Cheese
Shredded Cheese
Slices of Tomato and Onion
Panko or other breadcrumbs
Marinara Sauce of your choice

Drizzle the eggplant rounds with EVOO and dust them with seasoning.  Broil on both sides until just beginning to brown.  You don't want them cooked mushy.

Stack slices of grilled eggplant with layers of sliced onion, tomato, a dusting of Parmesan and panko in between along with a couple spoonfuls of marinara.  A good stack is 3 slices of eggplant.   Top each stack with additional tomato, onion, breadcrumbs, and shredded other cheeses.   Bake or broil a few minutes to melt the cheeses, and serve!  

Brit Pickled Beets
We got some HUGE beets in our produce box.  

Sally has only ever had British style pickled beets, not American, so I decided to try and replicate them.  The difference is in the vinegar and spices.  Most British pickled beets use malt vinegar, not white vinegar, seldom any sugar,  and minimal spices.  American pickled beets are significantly sweetened and use dry mustard and white vinegar.

I chose to roast my beets peeled and cubed rather than whole.  IMHO the "red menace" of juice and such is easier to clean up when raw rather than cooked.  At least there seems to be less of it to clean up!

To make a pint of pickled beets:

2 cups peeled cubed, roasted Beets
1 cup Malt Vinegar (just like you use for fish & chips)
1/2 tsp Pickling Salt (very fine grain, no anti-caking agents or iodine additives)
1 tsp Whole cloves 
1 tsp Whole Peppercorns
1/2 tsp Horseradish

In the bottom of your screwtop jar, place the herbs & spices. Now pack in the still warm beets. 

Warm but don't boil the vinegar, and whisk in pickling salt.

Pour the warm vinegar over all, to within 1/2" of the top.  Screw on the top and let it cool on the counter for a couple hours.    

For best results, store in the fridge for a couple days to a couple of weeks before sampling.  This gives the beets a chance to absorb the flavors.