The title makes it sound like a slogan for an anti food coloring NGO doesn’t it? When I am actually just trying to share a recipe – laughs – I am not literally saying you shouldn’t buy pistachio paste from the store or the internet, I am saying this one tastes so good, you simply won’t need to anymore. What you do need though is a decent blender (the one you use to make your morning smoothies won’t cut it). The nuts need to be blended long enough to warm up and have their natural oils come out thus creating a paste and well… that usually takes a while even with a good blender. But I mean look at that color! So pretty! And nutty and earthy and… ok I think you get the point. Down to the recipe!
Oh and I almost forgot! In case you wondered, this recipe is from Pierre Hermé of course.
Pistachio paste: never buy it from the store again
Difficulty: Easy1
4 oz. jar15
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
125 grams 125 unsalted shelled pistachios
30 grams 30 of almond flour
62 grams 62 of sugar
18 grams 18 of water
A few drops A few drops of almond extract
Notes
- The better quality pistachios you get the better the outcome will be!
- With these quantities I filled one 4 oz. jelly jar. You can obviously make more, doubling or tripling the recipe but it would be difficult to make less. Pistachio paste will keep well for weeks in the refrigerator and you can even freeze it so don’t be shy.
- It takes some time for the paste to form so patience is key.
- The almond extract is not mandatory but will boost the natural taste of the pistachios.
Pistachio paste
Rub 125g of pistachios between your hands to remove as much skin as possible. Some people boil them for a couple minutes to facilitate this process. Others toast them in the oven for the same reason. I do neither, working with a handful at a time works just fine to get that skin off.
Once you’ve done that, combine in a small saucepan 62g of sugar and 18g of water. Bring this soon to be syrup to 250F (121C).
Control the temperature with a kitchen thermometer. Once the syrup is at 250F, pour the pistachios right in it. Using a wooden spatula, mix until the sugar crystalizes and coasts the pistachios.
Remove the saucepan from the heat when you reach that sanding stage. You don’t want the sugar to melt again and turn into caramel (that would actually make pistachio praliné, delicious as well but different recipe).
Place the pistachios in a (strong) blender with the rest of the ingredients: 30g of almond flour and the almond extract. Blend blend blend until you get a smooth paste.
My camera decided to focus on the wrong thing, this is not an add for cuisinart though their blenders are really (really) good. The blending process is long and can take up to 15 minutes… But if the pistachio paste remains too thick you can add a bit of oil (sunflower, canola, grapeseed or any other that doesn’t have a strong taste to it. I’d be curious to try almond oil too).
And the blender is done laboring oh sweet Jesus! I spread it on toasts sometimes, it is that good. Transfer into a glass jar and keep in the refrigerator several weeks.
I can’t get over how pretty the color is, is it just me?
Gnom gnom gnom…