Vegan chestnut stew
Ingredients:
1 jar of roasted chestnuts, peeled, 420 g net weight, no juice
2 shallots
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried savory
1 pinch of Espelette pepper (or chilli)
1 teaspoon dried shallots
3-4 tablespoons sunflower oil or light olive oil
1-2 tablespoons flour (rice flour in my case)
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
100 ml of white wine
Preparation:
Heat a little oil in a deep pan (3-4 tablespoons) and sauté briefly the chopped onion and garlic. Then add the carrots, sliced, half-mooned or diced. Stew them for 1-2 minutes with the onion. Then, cover the vegetables with boiling water. Simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, until carrots are tender.
Add the roasted chestnuts, white wine (maybe a little water) and season the dish with salt, black pepper, savory, dried shallots and a pinch of Espelette pepper. Simmer for a further 10-12 minutes. When the chestnuts start to soften too much, thicken the sauce with a tablespoon of flour. There is no need to dilute it in water. You just need to sift it with a strainer over the soup, gradually. It won’t make lumps, especially if you use rice flour.
Give it 1-2 minutes until the chestnut stew thickens and stir occasionally. Remove from heat and let rest for a while. Serve the stew hot, sprinkled with fresh thyme and topped with a scoop of cooked rice.