Tag Archives: pistachios

PISTACHIO SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by

Super easy. Food processor does most of the work. Then the dough rests in the fridge, you can too, although I advise you not to be inside the fridge for that. Slice and bake. Gilding the lily with some white chocolate is optional.

PISTACHIO SHORTBREAD COOKIES
(slightly modified from Leite’s Culinaria)

113 g butter, very cold, cut in pieces (1 stick)
1 cup flour (about 125g)
1/4 cup sugar (50g)
1/2 cup roasted, salted pistachios
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
white chocolate for decoration (optional)

Pulse the flour, granulated sugar, pistachios, and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor until the pistachios are finely ground. Scatter the butter pieces in the food processor and pulse several times to cut the butter into the flour. Stop pulsing when the ingredients just start to come together.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a log about 2 inches in diameter and 10 inches long. Place the log on a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Tightly roll the wrap around the log and twist the ends to seal them securely. Refrigerate for 2 hours or a few days.

Heat the oven to 325ºF. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Cut the chilled cookie dough into 1/2-inch-thick coins and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Lightly brush the top of each shortbread cookie with water and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden brown on both top and bottom. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Optional step: drizzle tempered white chocolate or melted compound white chocolate over the cookie.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I cut the dough in two pieces and made two individual small logs, each being enough for 10 cookies. The first one got dusted with demerara sugar, but it kind of disappeared during baking. I decided to decorate that batch with white chocolate to give it a little more pizzazz. The second batch I dusted with coarse sanding sugar, and left it alone after baking. The cookies are delicious, melt in the mouth, with perfect pistachio flavor.

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SAUTEED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH DATES AND PISTACHIOS

Posted in Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by

Here I am to share a recipe that will definitely suffer severe beating in a Beauty Pageant Culinary Contest. But trust me, it tastes great and might even convert a few Brussels Sprouts haters out there. Maybe not all of them, but the more open-minded. It starts by slicing the sprouts very thinly, you can use a food processor with the slicing attachment, or a knife, a process that will be a bit slow but if you have the inclination, it will be worth it. I was in a bit of a hurry to make dinner and opted for the faster route.

….

SAUTEED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH PISTACHIOS AND DATES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

1 to 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
4 cups Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced
8 Medjool dates, pitted
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup shelled pistachios

for drizzling:
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
salt to taste
zest of 1 lemon

In a small measuring cup, combine the oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and salt. Whisk vigorously to combine. Reserve.

Heat the oil on a large sautee pan, when hot, add the sliced Brussels sprouts and cook in very high heat, seasoning with salt and pepper. Once it starts getting brown at the edges, add the dates and cook stirring for a couple of minutes. Add the pistachios, transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle the sauce all over. Serve, adjusting seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I used to shave Brussels sprouts and enjoy it as a light sautee dish very often many many years ago, in fact it was during my first marriage. Considering I’ve been married to Phil for ALMOST 25 years, you realize it’s been a while. If you can slice them by hand, the pieces will be very similar in size and texture. The food processor butchers them a bit, but it is so fast, so keep that in mind. Leftovers turn out a bit too soft but I still enjoy them two days later. You do need to be a lover of BS to enjoy it. See what I did here? I will see myself out.

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INCREDIBLY SIMPLE APPLE CARPACCIO

Posted in Desserts, Desserts, Sweets, Incredibly simple by

I love to bake but we rarely have dessert at home. Only dinner parties will find us enjoying sweets after a meal. Still, when it is your perfect match’s Birthday, it is nice to close the meal with some sweetness. We wanted something light, no heavy laminated dough, no cake, no pie. I stumbled on this recipe by accident, simplified it quite a bit and we absolutely loved it! At the end of the post, I will give you a suggestion to turn it into a verrine, in case you do not want to go through the trouble of slicing the apples so thin.

APPLE CARPACCIO
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 apple (I used honey crisp)
1/3 cup pistachios, toasted
1/2 cup full-fat yogurt
honey to taste
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
lemon juice

Cut the pistachios in small pieces, mix half with the yogurt, add honey to taste. Reserve the remaining pistachios.

Quarter the apple, core it, but do not peel it. Slice it super thin, ideally using a mandolin. Spread the slices over a plate, squirt lemon juice all over.

Place a dollop of yogurt in the center of the slices, top with pomegranate seeds and reserved pistachios. Drizzle with a little bit of honey and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was delicious, refreshing and light. I highly recommend it if you want to serve dessert but keep it on the light side. If you don’t own a mandolin and don’t want to go through the effort of cutting the apples by hand, dice the fruit and layer on a little glass. A layer of apple, some lemon juice, yogurt-pistachio layer, more apple, and top with the yogurt mix, finishing with pistachios, pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of honey. It will be a different serving style, but equally delicious.

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PISTACHIO ROSE DONUTS

Posted in Desserts by

I am very fond of this combination of flavors, the aura of romance and elegance it conveys. These baked donuts have a nice texture, moist and delicate. And they are so easy to make, I hope you’ll give this recipe a try.

PISTACHIO & ROSE BAKED DONUTS
(adapted from The Baking Explorer)

for the donuts:
30 g pistachios, coarsely ground (use a small food processor or a nut grinder)
175 g sugar
30 ml vegetable oil
175 ml whole milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp rose water
225 g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
zest of 1 lemon

for the glaze:
250 g powdered sugar
2 tbsp Water
1/2 tsp Rose water
3 tsp lemon juice

for decoration:
chopped pistachios optional
sprinkles

Heat the oven to 350F and grease donut pans with a very small amount of butter. Reserve. Sift the flour with baking powder in a bowl and reserve.

Mix together the sugar, milk, oil, vanilla extract, rose water, eggs and lemon zest in a bowl with a whisk
Add the flour mixture and ground pistachios, and fold them in. Place the batter in a piping bag, cut the tip and pipe in 12 donut pans. Bake for 12 minutes or until cooked through and starting the get some golden color.

Remove the baked donuts and let them cool on a rack. Make the glaze, adjusting the consistency with water if needed. It needs to be thick enough to nicely coat the surface. Decorate with chopped pistachios and sprinkles.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The addition of ground pistachios into the batter gives the donuts a speckled look and interesting texture. If you have pistachio flour, you can definitely use it, but I actually prefer to grind it, so that it’s not too fine. I realize some people are cheerleaders of the Team Fried Donuts. I’ve never made them because I have a deep dislike for dealing with a large volume of oil. At some point I need to face this little phobia of mine and give them a try. I still remember my first encounter with those donuts from a certain shop, all cute lined up in a conveyer’s belt, served straight from the fryer, with just a coating of powdered sugar. Definitely worth the extra calories!

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LEMON PISTACHIO LOAF

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Sweets by

Where is that “PLEASE MAKE ME” folder when I need it so badly?  This recipe from  Homesick Texan is fabulous. Lisa calls it Lemon Bread, I took some liberties with her recipe and decided to change it to loaf. To me, bread immediately brings the thought of yeast, and a drier crumb.  This is very moist and tender.  I also used pistachios instead of pecans, because one of our graduate students is nuts about pistachios (sorry, lousy pun). We like to keep our students happy, because happy students do great experiments. Or so we hope… 😉

LemonPistachioLoaf1

(made on May 18th – blogged on August 17th)

LEMON PISTACHIO LOAF
(slightly adapted from Homesick Texan)

for the loaf:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 + 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped coarsely

for the glaze:
6 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cups granulated sugar

Heat the oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9×5 bread pan, lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

Stir together the buttermilk and the baking soda and set it aside. Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat together the eggs and slowly add to the creamed butter. Stir in the buttermilk and then slowly add the flour. Mix until a smooth batter is formed. Stir in the lemon zest and the pistachios.

Pour in the batter and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool the loaf in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes.

As the bread is cooling, mix together the lemon juice and sugar for the glaze. To apply the glaze, tear out a sheet of foil large enough to contain the loaf when wrapped. Remove the loaf from the pan by running a knife along the edges and gently tapping it out onto the sheet of foil.

Spread the glaze evenly over the top of the loaf and on the sides. The glaze will be runny, just make sure to contain it all when you wrap the bread with the foil.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. Serve cold.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

 LemonLoafEdited

I am sure Lisa’s original version is amazing too, but when I saw the bright yellow-green color of the cut pistachios in the loaf, and how well their taste combined with the acidity of the lemon flavor, I was glad I used them.  Of course, for weeks I’d seen packages of shelled pistachios at the grocery store, but they disappeared the moment I wanted to make this recipe.  I had to buy whole pistachios and shell them, one by one.  A labor of love, but worth it.

This would be perfect for brunch, to take to a potluck, or to brighten up the morning of your co-workers.

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