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image of pasta con castagne e funghi, an italian autumn dish with chestnuts and woodland mushrooms in a rustic bowl set on a green napkin on a wooden board with raw mushrooms and chestnuts in the background

Pasta con Castagne e Funghi

Pasta with chestnuts and forest mushrooms, typical autumn dish from Italy's Calabria region. made with long pasta tossed in chestnut cream, with seasonal forest mushrooms and chopped chestnuts.

Ingredients

For the Pasta

  • Long pasta enough for 4 people

For the Sauce

  • 400 grams fresh whole chestnuts
  • 200 grams mixed wild mushrooms cleaned gently with a damp cloth
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 shallot finely chopped
  • 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
  • Parmigiano Reggiano grated (optional)

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
  • Cut a slit across the curved side of the chestnuts. Boil half of them in plenty of water for 30 to 40 minutes, until soft right through. half the chestnuts in a large saucepan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes.
  • Spread the remaining chestnuts out on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes.
  • Peel the boiled chestnuts and put in a food processor along with a few tbsp of chestnut cooking water and blend to a thick, smooth paste.
  • After roasting wrap the roasted chestnuts in a clean tea towel for 5 minutes. Peel all the chestnuts while they're warm, removing the hard shell and the thin brown skin underneath. Then roughly chop them.
  • Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the shallot and chopped parsley until soft.
  • Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt; then fry for 5 to 8 minutes, until they colour.
  • Cook the pasta until al dente and keep a cup of the cooking water.
  • Add the chestnut puree and chopped chestnuts to the pan, and combine with the mushrooms until combined. Add a ladleful of pasta water to loosen the mixture if necessary.
  • Toss the pasta through the chestnut cream, adding a splash of the cooking water to loosen it.
  • Garnish with some chopped parsley and serve straight away.

Notes

  1. For a quicker version, skip steps 3 to 7 and use unsweetened vacuum packed chestnuts. Whole and pureed packs are both readily available and make this dish very quick to make.
  2. Peel fresh chestnuts while they're warm. Once they cool, the inner skin sticks fast.
  3. Porcini give the best result, but any mix of woodland mushrooms works.
  4. Loosen the chestnut cream with a little pasta water to help it coat the pasta evenly.