Chestnut pastries - any recipes?

My Nonna (Italian grandmother) used to make a pastry every Christmas that had a soft sweet pastry shell filled with a delicious, sweet, soft chestnut paste. Unfortunately she didn't pass on the recipe before she went to join my Nonno in the afterlife. Any suggestions please would be welcome,

Chestnut pastries - any recipes?
try this one..





Chestnut and Fruit Fritters





Ingredients :





2 med Apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced


1 cup Vin Santo or other dessert wine


1/3 cup Granulated sugar


1/2 cup All-purpose flour


1/2 cup Chestnut flour


1 x Egg, separated


3/4 cup Dry white wine


1 tbl Unsalted butter, softened


Vegetable oil for frying


Confectioners' sugar for dusting the fritters





Method :


Place the apple slices in a bowl and sprinkle with the Vin Santo and the granulated sugar. Cover and set aside for 1 hour.


Mix together both types of flour, the egg yolk, and the white wine.


Beat the egg white in a separate bowl until fluffy. Fold the egg white gently into the flour mixture. Drain the apples and mix gently into the batter.


Heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.


Drop a 5-inch round of batter in the skillet, cook until golden brown on one side, flip and cook likewise on the other side. This should take about 3 minutes (1 1/2 minutes per side). Remove, drain, dust with the confectioners' sugar, and serve.


Yield: 4 as a dessert or snack








Chestnut Dessert





2 pounds chestnuts*


½ cup sugar


¼ cup water


1 tablespoon vanilla


4 or 5 apples


1 tablespoon butter


1 teaspoon cinnamon


2 tablespoons apricot jelly





Blanch and peel the chestnuts and cook until soft, then rub through a sieve. Make a syrup of the sugar and water, add vanilla and chestnuts and stir until the mixture is smooth. Place in a ring on plate. Cook the apples until soft, mash them, add butter, cinnamon, and apricot jelly. Put this mixture in the center of the chestnut ring and garnish with preserved fruits.





Chestnut Honey Pears





SERVES 4





The comice pears called for in this preparation are widely available in the winter.








2 cups dry white wine


2 cups sugar


1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise


2 long strips orange zest


4 firm but ripe comice pears, peeled, halved, and cored


2 tbsp. chestnut honey


5 sprigs fresh thyme


4 tbsp. cold butter, cubed


Salt


1 cup vanilla ice cream








1. Combine 6 cups water, wine, sugar, vanilla bean, and orange zest in a large pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add pears and poach until tender, 5–10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside, allowing pears to cool in poaching liquid. When cool, transfer pears to a plate. Pat dry with paper towels. Reserve poaching liquid.








2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until very warm, then add honey. Honey will bubble and foam, thinning out to coat bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute. Place 4 pear halves, cut side down, in hot honey. Cook pears until caramelized, shaking pan to prevent burning, about 5 minutes. Remove pears from pan and set aside.








3. Add 1 cup poaching liquid (with vanilla bean) and 1 sprig thyme to same skillet. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, whisk in butter, one cube at a time, then add a pinch of salt. Remove and discard vanilla bean and thyme and set sauce aside.








4. To serve, coarsely chop remaining 4 uncaramelized poached pear halves and divide among four plates. Place 1 caramelized pear half in center of each plate, then spoon sauce over pears. Add a small scoop of ice cream to each plate and garnish with a sprig of thyme.
Reply:Check out Joy of Cooking, Foodnetwork.com, and any of her cookbooks she might have left behind. And if you don't find it there, go to the library or a book store and scour the dessert sections of books, or dessert books. Try The Professional Pastry Chef by Friberg or Baking and Pastry from the CIA. Good Luck!!!

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