Roast chestnuts are typical of All Saints’ Day, when the families come together round the fire to enjoy char-grilled meat, make toast rubbed with a clove of garlic and have chestnuts for dessert. You can even pour a good dose of sweet aniseed liqueur into the water jug to give them a special aroma. Whenever a large group of people get together, this is the moment to make the castanyada, for which you need a large chestnut roasting pan and a good fire. At this time of year during the festivities of the city of Girona, you will find numerous chestnut vendors whose delicious autumn smell wafts through the streets. It is important that the chestnuts should be this season’s, collected recently or within the last few days, as they are fresher, contain more water and are more tender. If they are old it is better to boil them.