Preparation | Resting | Cooking | Start to finish |
---|---|---|---|
20 min. | 15 min. | 20 min. | 50 min. |
1 | Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F). You can buy pistachios already blanched with their skins removed (the green ones on the left in the photo), or still in their skins (usually cheaper). | |
2 | For this recipe the pistachios need to have the skins removed, so if you need to do this, plunge them for 2 minutes into boiling water. Drain, then slip off the skins, which should now be quite easy. | |
3 | Spread out on a baking sheet, and put in the oven to dry roast for about 5 minutes. | |
4 | Meanwhile heat 200 g caster sugar and 4 tablespoons water together in a small pan over high heat, and bring up to 120°C (250°F), using an electronic thermometer if possible. | |
5 | When this temperature has been reached, tip the pistachios all at once into the pan. | |
6 | Then stir with a wooden spatula. After a few seconds the mixture should become grainy. If this does not happen immediately it is because the sugar has not reached 120°C (250°F) yet. Don't worry, just keep stirring for a while longer until the change occurs. When the mixture has turned grainy (like in the photo), stop stirring, remove from the heat and leave to cool. | |
7 | Tip the cooled contents of the pan into a blender or food processor. | |
8 | Blend until it becomes evenly ground and green: pistachio powder. If you wish to use this powder for flavouring biscuits, a cake or a cream for example, use as it is. The powder is quite easy to incorporate. | |
9 | If you want pistachio paste, to fill chocolates for example, it's useless to blend any longer as, unlike praline, it will not turn into a paste like this. All that's needed is the addition of a little egg-white (as for marzipan) to bind the powder. | |
10 | The paste is best kept refrigerated, preferably spread into sort of flat cake, and wrapped in plastic film. Keep the powder at room temperature in an airtight jar. |