Chestnuts have historically been one of the most important foods to Tuscans. There are vast tracts of the trees here and often the carbohydrate-rich fruit was the only thing that was available for sustenance during harsh times. . They are an amazing food – gluten-free, starchy and sweet. I most often use chestnuts ground into flour, but I thought I’d have a go at cooking up some of the dried nuts. I half-followed a recipe from a locally-authored cook book, using onion, wine, stock, bay and fennel. . Here’s the result. You can see how I did it in my story today, where I walk through the process. This stash will last us the best part of a week – they are so very sweet that topping your meal with three or four is enough. Isn’t the shine on them in this pic wonderful?!