Chicken With Chestnuts Recipes

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH CHESTNUTS

Steps:

• Thoroughly wash and dry the chickens. Season the inside and outside of both birds with salt and pepper.
• In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add chestnuts and bay leaves and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Add shallots and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook 3 minutes. Add sherry and 2 tablespoons thyme, and cook until sherry is reduced to a glaze, about 4 minutes. Cool.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, combine remaining 2 tablespoons of thyme, coriander, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Working carefully, separate the skin from the meat of the breasts and the thighs and rub spice mixture in between.
• Divide chestnut mixture evenly and use it to stuff the cavities of the chickens. Tie the legs together to hold the stuffing in place.
• Set the chickens on a nonstick roasting rack in a roasting pan, breast side down, and roast for 20 minutes. Turn the chickens breast side up, baste with pan juices, and roast 40 minutes more, basting every 15 minutes until an instant-read thermometer inserted at the joint between the thigh and leg reaches 165 degrees. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Let cool for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, tilt the roasting pan and skim off and discard any fat. Add orange juice to the roasting pan, set the pan over a low flame, and scrape off any browned bits stuck to the pan.
• To serve, spoon the chestnuts out of the birds and into a bowl. Cut each chicken into 8 pieces (2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 breast halves, 2 wings) and pour the pan juices over chicken.

RED-COOKED CHICKEN WITH CHESTNUTS

Steps:

• Put the chicken in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover the meat completely. Bring the water to a boil and parboil the chicken over medium heat for about 10 minutes, continuously skimming off any scum that forms on the surface. Drain the meat thoroughly.
• Put the chicken, chestnuts, 1½ cups water, wine, both soy sauces, ginger, and sugar in a large clay pot or Dutch oven with a cover. (Alternatively, this dish can be cooked in a slow cooker.) Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and gently simmer the chicken, covered, for 45 minutes or until the meat is tender when pierced with a knife. During that time, replenish the liquid as needed to prevent scorching.

CHICKEN WITH CHESTNUTS

Steps:

• Stir together sugar, wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and water in a medium bowl, then set aside.
• Cut chicken through bones into 1-inch pieces with a cleaver. Add chicken to a 4-quart pot of boiling water and simmer briskly, uncovered, 5 minutes. Drain chicken in a colander and when cool enough to handle remove any skin, excess fat, and tiny bone shards.
• Heat vegetable oil in a wok over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then stir-fry ginger and garlic until golden, 1 to 2 minutes, and transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add half of chicken to wok and stir-fry until golden, about 2 minutes, then transfer to plate with ginger and garlic. Stir-fry remaining chicken with chestnuts until golden, about 2 minutes. Return chicken, ginger, and garlic from plate to wok, then add soy mixture. Cover wok and cook chicken over moderate heat until sauce is reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Remove lid and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until sauce is thickened and just coats chicken, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil. Serve sprinkled with scallion.

SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN WITH CHESTNUT BREADING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
• Place the chestnuts and torn baguette into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle the mixture with salt and pepper, as well as about 1 teaspoon each of the sage, savory and rosemary. Toss well to incorporate the olive oil and seasonings.
• In a separate bowl, combine the butter, lemon juice and the remaining 5 teaspoons sage, 2 teaspoons savory and 1 teaspoon rosemary and rub the mixture all over the inside and outside of the chicken. Place the squeezed lemon halves in the cavity.
• Place the chicken atop the breading and roast for 20 minutes; reduce the heat to 400 degrees F and cook until a thermometer inserted into the leg registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear, an additional 25 minutes.
• Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes, covered with foil, before serving.

BRAISED CHESTNUT CHICKEN

Steps:

• Put mushrooms in a bowl, and cover with boiling water. Pour 1/16 inch of oil in a large deep skillet or casserole, preferably nonstick, and place over medium heat. Cut an "X" in flat side of each chestnut, and add them to oil. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until skins loosen, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels; when cool, peel.
• While chestnuts cool, drain all but about 2 tablespoons oil from skillet. With heat on medium, add scallions and ginger and cook, stirring once or twice, for about 30 seconds. Reserve about 1/2 cup of mushroom soaking liquid, then drain mushrooms and add to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly brown, about 2 minutes. Remove mixture with a slotted spoon, and reserve.
• Put chicken pieces in skillet skin-side down. Brown well on all sides, then add mushroom mixture to pan, along with soy sauce, mushroom-soaking liquid and chestnuts. Stir well, cover, and turn heat to low. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, adding water if mixture dries out; dish is done when chicken and chestnuts are tender and sauce is thickened slightly. Serve hot, with rice.

CASHEW CHICKEN WITH WATER CHESTNUTS

Steps:

• Dissolve the cornstarch in the chicken broth, and stir in the soy sauce, ginger, and hot sauce; set aside. Heat half of the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the chicken; cook and stir until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the wok, and set aside.
• Pour the remaining tablespoon of oil into the wok, and stir in the onion, green bell pepper, and water chestnuts. Cook and stir until the chestnuts are hot, and the onion has softened, about 5 minutes more. Stir up the sauce to redistribute the cornstarch, then pour into the wok, and bring to a boil. Add the reserved chicken, and stir until the sauce thickens, and the chicken is hot. Sprinkle with cashews to serve.