Ziti with Chestnuts and Mushrooms
Chestnuts and dried mushrooms have a wonderful affinity for each other. Their unusual flavors and textures seem distantly related; they are both meaty and complex, chewy but neither tough nor crunchy. With shallots and plenty of black pepper for bite, the combination makes a great pasta sauce. And though chestnuts are a pain in the neck (the fingers, actually) to peel, the good news is that their complex, fragrant flavor is so powerfully distinctive that just a few can have an enormous impact on a dish. So although it may take thirty seconds to a minute to process a single chestnut, if you need only a dozen or so for a dish, the work amounts to about ten minutes. And in a creation like this one, the time is well worth the effort.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cut a ring around each chestnut, then put them in boiling water to cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove them from the water, a few at a time, and peel while still hot. Meanwhile, soak the mushrooms in about 1 1/2 cups of very hot water.
Step 2
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put half the butter or oil in a skillet, turn the heat to medium-high, and, a minute later, add the shallot. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Chop the chestnuts into 1/2- to 1/4-inch chunks, then measure about 1 cup. Add them to the skillet along with a little more salt.
Step 3
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chestnuts deepen in color, about 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from their soaking liquid; reserve and strain the liquid. Chop the mushrooms and add them to the skillet; cook, stirring, for a minute or two, then add the strained mushroom-soaking liquid. Turn the heat to low and season to taste with salt and lots of black pepper.
Step 4
Cook the pasta until tender but not mushy. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the pasta-cooking water to it when the pasta is nearly done. Stir in the remaining butter or oil, then drain the pasta and dress with the sauce. Serve immediately.
Variations
Step 5
Add a few fresh thyme sprigs along with the shallot. Remove before serving and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves as a garnish.
Step 6
Add diced (1/4 inch or less) zucchini; peeled, seeded, and diced tomato; or red bell pepper—no more than a cup total—along with the chestnuts.
Peeling Chestnut
Step 7
There are many ways to peel chestnuts, which like most nuts have a hard outer shell and a soft inner skin. Removing them both is a three-step process. First, use a paring knife—a curved one with a sharp point makes this quick and easy—to cut a ring around the equator of each nut or make an X on the flat side. Plunge the nuts into boiling water to cover for about three minutes, then turn off the heat, leaving the chestnuts in the water. Remove two or three at a time and, using the knife and your fingers, peel off both shell and skin; use a towel to protect your hands from the heat if necessary. If you’re doing a large batch—say, twenty or more—you’ll notice that as the water cools the skins become more difficult to remove. Bring the pot back to a boil and they’ll begin to slip off again. And, although the exact count of chestnuts for this dish is not critical, I begin with fifteen, because there are usually a couple of rotten ones, or some whose inner skin refuses to come off. These must be discarded.
