A chestnut bonet with pickled orange, candied orange, orange jelly and chestnut crumble is the ultimate adult dessert indulgence. Richard’s bonet – a classic dish hailing from Piedmont, Italy – was made a little more complex in flavour with the addition Australian sweetened chestnut puree. Smartly balanced with the acidic, unsweetened orange jelly and the brightness of other orange additions, it becomes an exploration of texture as much as taste. Atop, the orange-poached chestnut is soft in texture, not unlike an avocado, and with final dustings of chestnut crumble, the true heart and soul of earthy-sweet chestnuts are divinely evident. With so many enjoyable expressions of orange, this dish also reminds me of sampling a shot of cointreau. It’s a dish packed with flavour and fun: what could be better?
Chestnut Bonet
6 serves
2½ cups cream
½ cup milk
½ cup sweetened chestnut purée
1 vanilla bean
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
2½ egg yolks
1 large egg
2 cups sugar
½ cup chopped chestnuts
6 whole (peeled frozen) chestnuts for poaching
Orange juice
6 x 150ml oven proof moulds
Method
Preheat oven to 160C
1. Combine, cream, milk, half the chestnut purée, the vanilla bean, orange zest and cocoa in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat.
2. Whisk egg yolks, egg, a pinch of salt and the remainder of the chestnut purée.
3. Pour the warm liquid into the egg mixture, whisking continuously.
4. Place the sugar and ½ cup of water into a saucepan and caramelise. Divide between the 6 moulds.
5. Divide the chopped chestnuts between the moulds. Fill the moulds to about 3mm from the top and cook in a bain-marie for 45 minutes. They will look like jelly when you give them a shake.
6. To poach the whole chestnuts, simply place in a small saucepan and cover with orange juice. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.
7. Allow to cool for 3 hours in the refrigerator.
To serve
Run a knife around the edge of the mould, invert on a plate and release with a firm tap. Garnish with some fresh orange pieces, zest and some shortbread crumbled over the top.
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