Of all dried fruits, pistachios are the most versatile in the kitchen. It can be used in both delicious savoury and sweet recipes.
To arrive on our tables, pistachios follow four processing steps:
- Harvesting comes first. The pistachio is still covered with the husk, which has to be removed by a mechanical process.
- then the fruit must be dried in the sun for several days. During these first two stages, the pistachio is still enclosed in its shell, which preserves its fragrance and flavour.
- then the pistachios have to be shelled.
- last there is the 'peeling' stage. During the process, the fruit must be stripped of its thin, reddish-purple skin by exposing it to water vapour at high pressure. Immediately afterwards it is dried and brought to a humidity of 3-4%. This process lays the pistachio bare, enhancing its emerald green colour.
Other products are obtained through further processing:
- the grain;
- the flour;
- pure pistachio paste (mainly used for ice cream and desserts).
What we are used to eating is the roasted and sometimes salted seed, eaten as a snack, either as a snack or during an aperitif.
Pistachio in cooking, worked with other ingredients, goes well with starters, main courses and desserts.
The tasty pistachio cream can be used to flavour appetising hors d'oeuvres in combination with toasted bread, mature cheeses and fresh cold cuts.
Your palate can be delighted with a nice pasta dish topped with pistachio pesto and cherry tomatoes. For traditionalists who prefer classic Genoese pesto, the secret is simply to replace the pine nuts with pistachios.
As well as pasta, vegetable, chicken and pistachio couscous and pistachio and clam risotto are great ideas.
For fish and meat lovers, here are some tasty recipes that will leave your mouth watering:
- pork fillet in a pistachio crust;
- lobster au gratin with pistachio bread and lemon
- citrus duck with pistachio grain;
- veal with currants and pistachio nuts;
- chicken or speck and pistachio rolls;
- swordfish au gratin with pistachios and almonds
For lovers of sweet-savoury contrasts, pistachios can become the unexpected ingredient in delicious desserts. From classic ice cream to creamy mousses that go well with strawberries and red fruits.
Another tempting recipe is the cocoa and pistachio semifreddo. But it is also an original version of the classic tiramisu: just add pistachio paste to the cream and mascarpone to obtain a delicious cream.
And after a feast of recipes if you are still not satisfied Paesano proposes a Sicilian pistachio liqueur cream. A true dessert, a unique and inimitable recipe, processed with a few simple and genuine ingredients, which make for an excellent combination in special drinks (Pistachio Sour and Gren Russian). The flavour and aroma of pistachios are enhanced by the slow artisanal processing and the low alcohol content (17 degrees).
