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Peking Dust

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(Photo by matt coats/Flickr)
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(Photo by matt coats/Flickr)

A sweet concoction that combines whipped cream and ground chestnuts (to represent the sand of the Mongolian desert).

A surprisingly delicious dessert in spite of its extreme simplicity.

Serves 8.

Ingredients

500 g/1 lb fresh chestnuts
300ml/10 fl oz/1 1/4 cups cream
4 tablespoons caster sugar
glazed walnuts (optional)

Directions

Make small slits in the chestnut shells or take a thin slice off the
broad end to make them easier to peel. Bring to the boil in water to
cover. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. Drain and when cool enough to handle,
peel, taking care to remove all traces of the thin inner skin.

Whip cream with caster sugar until soft peaks form. Put a spoonful of
cream in each of 8 dessert dishes. Press warm chestnuts through a
coarse wire sieve over a plate to make what really does look like
'dust'. With a spoon, heap a thick layer of the sieved chestnut over
the cream. Top with a glazed walnut if liked. The texture of this
dessert cannot be achieved using chestnut purée.

Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)

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