Feb. 26 is National Pistachio Day! Celebrate with one, two or all three of these yummy recipes!
Pistachio Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted, unsalted pistachios (shelled)
- 1 (4 oz) can fire-roasted green chiles, drained
- 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted green tomatoes, drained
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 small slice bread (toasted, about 1/2 cup when torn)
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4–1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil (plus more to thin if desired)
- 1–2 tsp lemon juice for brightness
- 1 package vacuum-sealed gnocchi
Instructions
- Toast bread until golden and crisp. Let it cool and tear into pieces.
- In a food processor or blender, combine:
toasted bread
pistachios
garlic
drained green chiles
drained green tomatoes - Add vinegar, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.
- Blend until coarse. Blend enough to break everything down. Mix should be chunky but starting to combine.
- Add olive oil slowly, adding a bit, then blending, until the mixture becomes thick but spreadable. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Taste and adjust: Add lemon juice for brightness. Adjust salt, vinegar or oil to balance heat, acidity, and richness.
- Prepare gnocchi per package instructions.
- Toss the gnocchi in the sauce before serving. Add a steamed vegetable on top if desired.
Bitty Brie Bites with Pistachio and Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 4 ounces brie cheese
- 1/2 cup cranberry sauce
- 1/8 cup jalapeño, seeds removed and finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons raw shelled pistachios, chopped
- Flaky sea salt and ground black pepper, optional
Instructions
- Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- On a floured surface, roll out the sheet of puff pastry into a 10-by-15-inch size. Cut into rounds using the lip of a glass with an approximate 3.5 inch diameter. Carefully press the pastry rounds into the muffin pan.
- Cut brie into slices of about 1/2 inch. Place a piece in the center of each pastry. Top each with a dollop of cranberry sauce (about one-half teaspoon). Sprinkle with jalapeño pieces, then chopped pistachios.
- Bake until the puff pastry is golden brown on the edges and the cheese is melted, about 15 min. Cool bites in the pan for about five minutes before removing and serving.
White Chocolate and Pistacho Easter Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 lb. white chocolate
- ½ lb. pistachio kernels
- Lemon zest
- Pink Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Chop pistachios. Coarseness is up to you. It depends on how chunky you want the eggs’ centers. Set aside.
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in a metal bowl over boiling water.
- Fill an eight-set silicon egg mold with the melted chocolate. Let sit long enough that the chocolate covering the outer shell hardens – about five minutes. Pour the still soft chocolate back into the double burner pan or metal bowl.
- Set aside half of that melted chocolate in a separate bowl.
- Make your pistachio filling. Add roughly a tablespoon of lemon zest and a pinch of pink Himalayan salt to the chocolate in the double boiler. Add half of the chopped pistachios. Stir to combine.
- Spoon or pipe the filling into the eggshells, filling them halfway. Press the remaining chopped pistachios across the top to form an even surface, leaving space for the final layer of chocolate.
- Re-melt the plain chocolate that was set aside. Once it cools slightly, pour over eggs then scrape across the top to seal. Let the eggs fully harden.
- Gently pop the hardened eggs out of the mold.
- You can also decorate the finished eggs with drizzles of chocolate and pistachio bits.
