Chestnut Delights
Ingredients
1 kg fresh or dried chestnuts
Sweet pumpkin (preferably “Red kuri squash”)
Raw sugar or panela/rapadura (brown cane sugar)
Lemon peel
Orange or mandarin zest
Star anise and cinnamon (powder and stick)
Sesame seeds, pine seeds or cocoa powder
Directions
Boil the peeled chestnuts covered in water until soft with a bit star anise, cinnamon and lemon peel (if the chestnuts are dry soak in water the night before and cook longer).
Purée or mash them.
Mix in a quarter of volume of sweet pumpkin (Red kuri squash) cooked, the orange or mandarin zest, a pinch of cinnamon powder and add a quarter of the weight of the mixture of raw sugar or panel/rapadura.
Place the mixture in a saucepan and stir on low heat until thick.
Cool until one can make small balls by hand. Decorate some with sesame seeds, pine nuts or cocoa powder or a combination of them and present nicely.