Qastan Mixwi (Roasted Chestnuts)
Fresh chestnuts roasted until tender, with split shells and a gently sweet centre. A simple warm snack for autumn evenings and Advent gatherings.
Ingredients
Have your ingredients ready? Go to instructionsInstructions
- Choose and rinse: Choose firm, heavy chestnuts with shiny shells. Discard any that are mouldy, damaged, or shrivelled. Rinse the rest and dry them. Heat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C).
- Score each shell: Place each chestnut flat-side down on a board. With a small sharp knife, carefully cut a cross through the curved shell and the thin skin beneath, avoiding a deep cut into the nut. Score every chestnut so steam has a way out during roasting.
- Roast: Arrange cut-side up in a single layer in a roasting tin. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until the cuts open and a peeled test chestnut is tender in the centre. Larger nuts may need a little longer; check rather than roasting until dry.
- Rest briefly: Cover the tin with a clean tea towel for about 5 minutes to help loosen the skins. Let the chestnuts cool enough to handle without burning your fingers, but begin peeling while they are still warm.
- Peel and serve: Remove both the hard brown shells and the thin inner skins. Serve the golden chestnuts warm, plain or with a little salt. Discard any spoiled chestnuts you find while peeling.
Buy Fresh Sweet Chestnuts
This recipe starts with fresh chestnuts still in their shells. Dried chestnuts need soaking and a different cooking method; cooked vacuum-packed chestnuts are already peeled. Do not swap either into the roasting schedule above.
Buy edible sweet chestnuts from a food supplier. Horse chestnuts, also called conkers, are a different nut and are not an ingredient for this recipe.
Score, Then Peel While Warm
Cutting every shell before roasting lets steam escape. A split shell is a useful sign, but check one nut for tenderness too. Remove the papery inner skin as well as the shell before eating. Good Food’s roasting guide also explains shell cutting and warm peeling.
Serve a small freshly roasted batch while people gather, then make another if needed. Leftover peeled chestnuts should be cooled promptly and refrigerated in a covered container rather than left in the warm serving bowl.
For more food to share in the weeks before Christmas, see the Advent collection. If you want a chestnut-and-chocolate drink instead, follow the overnight soaking instructions for Imbuljuta tal-Qastan.
Chestnuts in the festive season
Visit Gozo’s Christmas overview includes roasted chestnuts among the island’s festive foods, alongside treacle rings, date pastries, fruit cakes, and nougat.
The oven method above is a home preparation for a seasonal snack. Roasting a small batch during Advent is a serving idea rather than a distinct religious food custom.