‘Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…’, Nat King Cole sang many years ago. It’s not Christmas time yet, but it’s time for chestnuts. And judging by the sudden change in the weather in this second half of October, winter is just around the corner (only a couple of weeks ago I was extolling the beauty of our glorious Indian Summer… definitely, we don’t have the in-between seasons anymore, as we use to say in Italy). <br /> <br />Being so cold outside, I felt like having a warm, heartening tart to cheer up these grey rainy days. We had plenty of chestnuts at home (coming from the Appenines, a gift from a neighbor) and apples, too, so I decided to make something of them. I peeled the chestnuts (arm yourselves with patience because it’s a nerve-straining, demanding job) and boiled them together with sugar and vanilla. Then I cooked the apples with butter and honey (home-made bitterish honey from our Calabrian great-aunts – God bless them!). And finally I made the pastry using my mom’s long-tested (and long-appreciated) recipe. The result was excellent – my husband and his friend ate it up in a second (they left just a slice for me and my parents to taste it…).

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