Chef Dimitra
Aegean Islands Chtapodi Xidato (Χταπόδι Ξιδάτο)
From the Aegean islands, this is the Lenten octopus: simmered slowly without added water, sliced while tender, and steeped in vinegar, oregano, and its own dark cooking liquor.
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Asia Minor Pilafi me Kastana (Πιλάφι με Κάστανα)
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Asia Minor chestnut pilaf belongs to the Christmas fasting table: rice, raisins, pine nuts, and pomegranate, fragrant with cinnamon and cooked gently enough for the chestnuts to stay whole.
Side Dishes
Greek
Christmas
Special Occasion
35 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield6 servings as a side dish
Pilafi me kastana is the Asia Minor Christmas pilaf: rice glossy with olive oil, roasted chestnuts folded through whole, little raisins for sweetness, and pomegranate scattered at the end like red beads. It is festive without meat, exactly the kind of nistisimo dish the fasting table knows how to make generous.
The chestnuts decide it. Roast them first, peel them while warm, and add them after the rice has been coated in oil. If you boil them into the pot from the beginning, they break down and the pilaf loses its dignity. Keep them in large pieces and the dish eats the way it should: sweet, separate-grained, fragrant, and proper for a Christmas table before the feast fully begins.
I make this in the Politiki register, the kitchen of the City and the Asia Minor families who carried cinnamon, allspice, raisins, and rice dishes into northern Greece with a steady hand. Nothing here is decorative for its own sake. Λίγα και καλά, a few things, and good ones: chestnuts, rice, oil, and patience.
Chestnut pilafs belong to the Greek kitchens of Constantinople and Asia Minor, where rice, dried fruit, pine nuts, and warm spices moved easily through Ottoman trade routes. After the 1922 expulsion from Asia Minor, refugee families brought these festive nistisima rice dishes into Thessaloniki and other northern Greek cities. Pomegranate at Christmas is not only garnish; in Greek homes it marks abundance and good fortune for the turning year.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
chestnuts
Quantity
300g
in the shell
long-grain rice or Greek nychaki rice
Quantity
300g
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
60ml
yellow onion
Quantity
1 medium
finely chopped
pine nuts (koukounaria)
Quantity
40g
black Corinth raisins or small dark raisins
Quantity
60g
cinnamon stick
Quantity
1
whole allspice berries
Quantity
3
hot vegetable broth or hot water
Quantity
700ml
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
pomegranate arils
Quantity
80g
for finishing
flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| chestnutsin the shell | 300g |
| long-grain rice or Greek nychaki rice | 300g |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil | 60ml |
| yellow onionfinely chopped | 1 medium |
| pine nuts (koukounaria) | 40g |
| black Corinth raisins or small dark raisins | 60g |
| cinnamon stick | 1 |
| whole allspice berries | 3 |
| hot vegetable broth or hot water | 700ml |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| pomegranate arilsfor finishing | 80g |
| flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped | 2 tablespoons |
Equipment Needed
- •wide heavy pot with tight-fitting lid, 28cm
- •small sharp chestnut knife or paring knife
- •rimmed roasting tray
Instructions
- 1
Roast the chestnuts
Heat the oven to 220C. Cut a shallow cross into the rounded side of each chestnut, set them on a tray, and roast for 18 to 22 minutes, until the shells curl back and the nut inside smells sweet. Wrap them in a clean towel for 10 minutes, then peel off both the hard shell and the bitter inner skin while they are still warm.
- 2
Rinse the rice
Rinse the rice in several changes of cool water until the water runs mostly clear, then drain it well for 10 minutes. This keeps the grains separate instead of heavy and pasty, which is the difference between pilafi and a pot of soft rice.
Do not soak this rice for a long time. A rinse and a short drain are enough. - 3
Start the base
Warm the olive oil in a wide heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and pale gold, not browned. Add the pine nuts and stir for 1 minute, just until they take a little color.
- 4
Coat the rice
Add the drained rice and stir for 2 minutes, so every grain is glossy with oil. Add the raisins, cinnamon stick, allspice, salt, and pepper, then fold in the peeled chestnuts gently. Keep the chestnuts in large pieces. This is the method that decides the dish: roast and peel them first, then fold them in softly, so they stay whole and sweet instead of crumbling into the rice.
- 5
Cook covered
Pour in the hot broth or water. Bring it to a steady simmer, cover the pot, and lower the heat to its gentlest setting. Cook for 17 minutes without lifting the lid. The liquid should be absorbed and the rice tender, with the chestnuts sitting through it like little golden pieces.
- 6
Rest and finish
Take the pot off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and allspice. Fluff the pilaf with a fork, not a spoon, then scatter over the pomegranate and parsley if using. Serve warm, with the oil still glossy on the grains.
Chef Tips
- •Choose chestnuts that feel heavy for their size, with tight glossy shells and no rattle inside. If they are light or hollow, they are old, and no careful pot will rescue them.
- •If peeling chestnuts is not your day, use good vacuum-packed whole chestnuts. Rinse them briefly, pat them dry, and fold them in near the end so they don't collapse.
- •This pilaf sits well beside roast poultry or pork after the fast, but it doesn't need them. On a Christmas Eve fasting table, serve it with olives, greens, bread, and a sharp cabbage salad.
Advance Preparation
- •Roast and peel the chestnuts up to 2 days ahead; keep them covered in the refrigerator.
- •Rinse and drain the rice shortly before cooking, not hours ahead.
- •The finished pilaf can rest covered for up to 30 minutes before serving; add the pomegranate at the table so it stays bright.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 250g)
Calories
460 calories
Total Fat
15 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
630 mg
Total Carbohydrates
76 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
13 g
Protein
7 g
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