flipRoasted chestnuts from the street vendor
Roasted chestnuts from the street vendor
Why this dish? Leaving the Hôtel de Bourgogne or the Comédie-Française in the evening, Marivaux would inevitably encounter the roasted chestnut vendors, a fixture of Parisian winter streets. A humble pleasure to nibble while walking, accessible to all theater night-owls.
Chestnuts scored and roasted on a perforated pan, hot enough to burn your fingers, sweet and floury. The winter snack sold on Parisian street corners.
On cold winter evenings, leaving the theater, I could not resist the vendor who made his chestnuts burst open on his perforated pan. One would fill one's pockets to warm one's fingers as much as to eat them. Peel them while hot, Monsieur: the flesh is sweet and floury — a tiny happiness, sold for a few farthings at a street corner.
- •Chestnuts (marrons) — a full panful (sole ingredient)
- •Pinch of salt — optional (seasoning)
Roasted chestnuts from the street vendor
Chestnuts scored and roasted on a perforated pan, hot enough to burn your fingers, sweet and floury. The winter snack sold on Parisian street corners.
Why this dish? Leaving the Hôtel de Bourgogne or the Comédie-Française in the evening, Marivaux would inevitably encounter the roasted chestnut vendors, a fixture of Parisian winter streets. A humble pleasure to nibble while walking, accessible to all theater night-owls.
On cold winter evenings, leaving the theater, I could not resist the vendor who made his chestnuts burst open on his perforated pan. One would fill one's pockets to warm one's fingers as much as to eat them. Peel them while hot, Monsieur: the flesh is sweet and floury — a tiny happiness, sold for a few farthings at a street corner.
Ingredients (period version)
- Chestnuts (marrons) — a full panful (sole ingredient)
- Pinch of salt — optional (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Fresh chestnuts — 500 g (sole ingredient)
- Salt — 1 pinch (seasoning)
Method
- Score each chestnut with a cross on the rounded side using a knife (essential to prevent bursting).
- Arrange them in a single layer in a pan (ideally perforated) or on a baking sheet.
- Roast for 20 to 25 minutes over high heat or in the oven at 220°C, stirring occasionally, until the skins split and blacken in spots.
- Wrap in a cloth for a few minutes to make peeling easier, then peel and enjoy while hot.
How it was made : The "marchands de marrons" were among the small street trades of Paris, recorded in the *Cris de Paris*. They roasted chestnuts on perforated pans over a brazier and sold them in paper cones for a few farthings to passersby throughout the winter.
The contemporary twist : A pinch of fleur de sel and a dusting of cinnamon to awaken the chestnut's sweetness.
Sources : Les Cris de Paris (iconographic tradition of small trades)
Marivaux · Charactorium
