Chestnut Bread

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, add raisins and drench them in warm water (or wine) so they can soak.
3. During this time, in a medium bowl, sift the chestnut flour so it is lump-free because it usually has hard lumps. Pour in 1 cup of water and start whisking until it is combined. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mix it, and let it sit for 15 minutes.
4. After 15 minutes, the batter must resemble pancake batter, but if it is too thick then you can add tablespoon-by-tablespoon of water to loosen it up a little. Strain the raisins and incorporate them into the batter with the walnuts.
5. In an 8-inch square baking pan, add the remaining oil and keep it in the oven for 2 minutes so the oil can heat. Take the pan out and coat all sides of the pan with the oil. Pour the batter in and smoothen it out (there will be oil pooling around the edges). Top it off with pine nuts and rosemary.
6. Let it bake until the top has dried and the edges are brown (this takes 25 to 30 minutes). After baking, let it cook for 15 minutes before you loosen the edges with a knife and take the bread out of the pan. Serve warm.

Trivia

• Chestnuts have been around for over 4000 years.
• These are the only nuts that are packed with vitamin C.

For early Christians, chestnuts represent chastity.