Maple-roast Brussels sprouts, chestnuts and garlic

This dish is perfect with the Christmas meal, or, in fact, any celebratory gathering. These days it’s fairly easy to get vacuum-packed prepared chestnuts – simple to use and with a long shelf-life, they make things a lot easier. You may want to prepare them yourselves, but one freezing winter in London I just found myself a roasted chestnut seller and bought some from him, already shelled – such men are rare now, but are well worth supporting. If you don’t have maple syrup, try a mixture of