Kuri An (Sweet Chestnut Paste)

• 300 grams Chestnuts
• 90 grams Sugar
• 60 ml Water
• 1 tsp Mirin
• 1 pinch Salt

1. I used regular boiled and peeled chestnuts.
2. The shape doesn't matter, so you can use ones that have been split in half and scooped out with a spoon.
3. I used about 300 g of peeled chestnuts.
4. The amount of sugar to aim for is about 30% of the chestnuts in weight, and the amount of water is about 20%.
5. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and heat to make syrup.
6. When the sugar has melted, turn the heat down, add the chestnuts, and mix while simmering for a little bit.
7. While there is still moisture left in the pan, add mirin and salt and bring back to a simmer.
8. Turn off the heat.
9. Puree in a food processor or pass through a strainer and it's done.
10. If you are passing it through a strainer, it's easier to do so if you don't simmer the chestnuts for too long in Step 4.
11. (If needed, pass it through a strainer first and then simmer the paste a little more.)
12. A superb chestnut paste is done.
13. To make the Mont Blanc topping: I passed the chestnut paste through a fine meshed sieve again, and added 1 coffee creamer (5 ml) to thin it out.
14. I also added a little vanilla essence.

chestnuts, sugar, water, mirin, salt

Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/170074-kuri-an-sweet-chestnut-paste (may not work)