Recipe & photography by Soph Gordon.
What you’ll need:
Approx 450g chestnuts (if you want to buy pre cooked, you’ll need approx 225-250g)
Olive oil
1 medium brown or white onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
Handful fresh sage leaves
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 medium potato or 2 smaller potatoes, any variety
750ml-1 lire vegetable stock
2 tbsp soy/tamari sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2-1 tsp spicy paprika
Approx 250-400g pasta of choice
What to do:
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (fan oven). Use a sharp knife to cut an X-shape on both sides of each chestnut, ensuring it goes pretty much the whole width and length. Place them on a baking tray and roast for 15–20 minutes. The shells will start to pull back from the cuts, exposing the flesh inside. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then peel the shells off. If you are not using fresh and already pre cooked, you can skip this step as they will be cooked and de-shelled.
Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and sauté. the onions until soft and slightly browned. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so. Season with salt and pepper, add the sage and thyme, stir to combine and fry slightly.
Add the cubed potato, stock, soy sauce or tamari, tahini, mustard and paprika. Season again with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until the potato is totally tender, with less liquid in the pot.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add your pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving a little of the water, and put the pasta back into the same pot. Add a drizzle of olive oil and stir to prevent the pasta sticking together. Cover.
Remove the cooked potatoes from the heat, transfer the sauce mixture to a blender (or use a hand blender in the
pan), add the cooked chestnuts, and blend until smooth.
Over a low heat, pour the sauce over the pasta along with the reserved pasta water and mix well to combine and heat through. Season with salt and pepper if needed. If you want to loosen the sauce, add a little more oil or more pasta water.
Shallow fry your sage leaves before adding as a garnish to the pasta. Serve with your favourite cheese some extra cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
