Despite the lack of counter space in my kitchen, I recently decided it was time to buy myself a food processor. As a diehard fan of the Food Network and Cooking Channel, I have seen countless celebrity chefs chop, grind, slice, purée, and knead with these magical machines. So thanks to my Christmas bonus, I have added a lovely Cuisinart to my kitchen's arsenal.
As with most Saturday mornings, I was up before the wife. The coffee was brewing, and I was feeling a bit hungry, when I noticed a bag of pistachios sitting on the counter. "Hmm," I thought, "what can I do with those? Pistachio butter!" I hit the trusty interwebs for some ideas on how to get started, and here's what I came up with:
Pistachio Butter
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Pistachios (shells and skins removed)
- Honey (to taste)
- Salt (to taste)
Directions:
- Shell, blanch, and remove the skin of the pistachios: Remove and discard all shells. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the pistachios and boil for about one minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove one pistachio, and test for readiness--the skin should easily be removed by giving the nut a pinch. When ready, drain the pistachios, and shock them with cold water. Drain the cold cold water, and remove the skin of the remaining pistachios.
- Transfer the pistachios to a food processor, and add the salt (I started with 2 tsp). Run the machine (you may need to add a little warm water to get it going, but be careful not to over do it, or you might end up with pistachio soup).
- Once the pistachios begin to smooth out, and while the machine is still running, add the honey (I started with 2-3 tbsp).
- Continue to run the processor until it is a smooth consistency. You may need to stop, and scrape the sides once or twice. Taste, and adjust the salt and honey if necessary.
- Serve and enjoy, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
You can probably use the pistachio anywhere in place of peanut butter. I made myself a grilled PB&H sandwich (pistachio butter and havarti on multigrain), and I have to tell you, it was pretty damn good.
