610. Marrons Glaces

Marrons glaces are candied chestnuts - basically chestnuts that are just soaked in a sugar syrup until they are just these soft but hard, sticky but crunchy balls of super sweet nuttiness. I was kind of dubious as I’m used to having chestnuts savoury - either in a stuffing or with brussel sprouts, or my favourite way where they are just roasted and then covered in a metric ton of salt. They’re supposed to be a delicacy, and can be pretty expensive though so I guessed that there had to be something good about them. It turned out that they were actually really nice, something similar to a praline but with a much softer texture and a hint of that unique chestnutty flavour. They are very sweet though so you would not want more than one at a time.

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I was feeling a little creative, so I decided to make something that was really different to anything I would usually make. I made some sausage meatballs in a 403. Chestnut, mushroom and red wine sauce, and served them with cheesy 404. Polenta. I thought it turned out really well though I don’t think Pie was as keen on it. The chestnuts added a nice nutty flavour which went really well with the sausage and mushrooms. I have had polenta a few times before but always as a solid chunk rather than a wet puree. It was a nice alternative to mash.

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