Autumn: chestnut purée with black olives

“It’s autumn, it’s cooler and you get hungrier. You start to crave vegetables that stick to the ribs. As a prologue to winter, you feel like creating recipes with traditional vegetables like marrows, squashes and other Cucurbitacae, as well as celeriac, parsnips and other root vegetables…”

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4 :
1 kilo chestnuts
1 litre peanut oil
1 litre chicken bouillon
1 bay leaf
100 g pitted black Taggiasche olives
100 ml olive oil

PREPARATION :
To remove both the outer shell and inner skin of the chestnuts, make an incision with a sharp paring knife and plunge them into boiling peanut oil. Peel them while still warm.

Then cook them until tender in the chicken bouillon with the bay leaf.

Purée the pitted olives in a blender, add 100 ml olive oil and continue blending. Mix in the cooked chestnuts, adding some bouillon, if necessary, to obtain a smooth purée.

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve. There is no need to add salt or pepper, as the olives act as seasoning.