Sage and Chestnut Pesto

A seasonal pesto made fromroasted chestnuts and sage. It’s versatile too! You can mix it into pasta, thinit out for a vinaigrette, serve it as a sauce for veggies or simply spread iton toast.

Print Pin

Course: Condiment, Sauces and Salsas

Cuisine: Italian, Western

Diet: Chestnuts, oregano, Sage

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 40

Servings: cup

Author: Eff | Food Daydreaming

Equipment

Ingredients

120 g chestnuts
1-2 cloves of garlic
50 g Grana Padano or Parmesan, finely grated
10 g pack sage, stems on, woody ends removed
10 g pack oregano, picked
Juice from half a lemon
Pinch of salt
100-200 ml extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200C.
Gather the chestnuts and make a horizontal cut across the top of the whole nut, and one cut on each side, providing a larger surface area for the skin to split open and make it easier to peel the nuts. Try not to cut the nut itself (though it’s not the end of the world if you do).
120 g chestnuts
Arrange the nuts on a baking tray in a single layer, cut side up, and roast for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when they’re golden brown and tender, and the skin has pulled away from the cuts you made.
Remove the chestnuts from the oven, wrap them up in a towel and set aside for 5-10 minutes to steam and cool.
When cool enough to handle – but still quite hot – peel the chestnuts of both the outer and inner skin layers. The cooler chestnuts get, the harder they are to peel.
Roughly break up the nuts into smaller pieces and put them in a bowl of a food processor or immersion blender chopping bowl. Add the garlic cloves and grana Padano and blitz until the chestnuts are a breadcrumb consistency.
1-2 cloves of garlic, 50 g Grana Padano or Parmesan
Add the sage and oregano, lemon juice and salt, and a quarter or so of the oil and pulse again. Little by little, add oil and pulse until it becomes a pesto consistency – less oil for a thicker, chunkier pesto for dips and sauces, more oil for a smoother, thinner pesto for pasta sauces, vinaigrettes and spreads.
10 g pack sage, 10 g pack oregano, Juice from half a lemon, Pinch of salt, 100-200 ml extra virgin olive oil

Cook along with me

Notes

Use Sage and Chestnut Pesto as: a sauce for pasta, a spread for pizza and sandwiches, a flavour bomb for potato soup, a dip for crudités, a topping for roasted veggies.

Storage: Leftover pesto can be stored in an air tight container and refrigerated for 4-5 days. Or freeze it in small ice cube blocks and store in zip lock bag for up to 3 months.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @food_daydreaming or tag #fooddaydreaming on instagram. I love seeing what you all come up with!

Nutrition