Author Archives: hossein

Christmas holidays would be more interesting by eating nutritious nuts such as Pistachios. Actually nuts are great snacks for this season. Bowls of these five festive favorites on the table, are part of Christmas traditions in the parties. Then no wonder eating nuts and Pistachio for Christmas are enjoyable in homes for the vacation time.

As stated in history, from 18^th century, nuts were used as decoration in homes next to the Christmas trees. Have a big bowl of nuts with a nutcracker on the table is a part of Christmas tradition. Europeans believe that it’s the Saint Nicholas brings nuts and oranges and other things for the fest feast day on December 5th or 6^th.

Pistachio Gifts for Christmas

Pistachios, these beautiful small kernels from the cashew family, can be wonderful Christmas gifts. Green and slightly sweet seeds contain several essential nutrients and can help weight loss. Then if you are looking for an especial Christmas gift, pistachio baskets can be great option. You can order them in different flavors including: Salty, Lemon-Salt, Saffron, Honey, Pepper-Salt, Chilly.

Pistachios for Christmas

Nuts are one the most popular snacks all over the world. They are tasty and enjoyable and of course a great diet for kids. Nuts are seed kernels that despite being high in fat, they have a lot of health benefits. Among them pistachio is one of the healthiest one; it has high level of unsaturated fatty acids, bursting with minerals, fiber that can keep your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol in check. Pistachios are great source of vitamin B, copper, manganese and different kind of minerals.

Nutty, fancy little French macarons made with freshly chopped pistachios and filled with an homemade pistachio buttercream

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Resting time30 mins

Total Time1 hr 15 mins

Servings: 20 macaron sandwich cookies

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PISTACHIO MACARONS:

3.5 ounces powdered sugar

0.4 ounces pistachios shelled

2 ounces almond flour

2 ounces egg whites (about 2 large egg whites), room temperature

1 3/4 ounces granulated sugar

1 pinch cream of tartar (less than 1/8 teaspoon)

1 pinch yellow gel food coloring

1/2 pinch green gel food coloring

pistachio buttercream (recipe below)

FOR THE PISTACHIO BUTTERCREAM:

1.6 ounces pistachios

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter unsalted, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons heavy whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE MACARONS:

Prepare one baking sheet by placing two macaron templates on the sheet. You can print the templates here. Place parchment paper or silicone mats over the templates. Set baking sheet aside.

Place oven rack in the lower half of the oven, but not all the way to the bottom. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Add powdered sugar, pistachios, and almond flour to the bowl of a food processor. Process the ingredients for about 30 seconds so that the mixture is super fine. Sieve the flour and sugar mixture three times and discard leftover bits of pistachios. Set mixture aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, add egg whites and cream of tartar and begin to beat on medium-high until it begins to foam. Once it starts to get foamy, begin to slowly sprinkle the granulated sugar into the egg whites until it’s all been incorporated. Increase the speed to high to whip the meringue into stiff peaks. The meringue should have the consistency of shaving cream, NOT soft serve. Add food coloring and mix to combine. If you want a deeper color, add a little bit more coloring. But a little goes a long way.

Once the meringue is done, add one-third of the sifted flour mixture to the meringue and fold with a spatula. Do this step very carefully and slowly, cutting the mixture down the middle and swooping around. Once it’s incorporated, add a second-third and gently fold in. Then, add the final third. Mix just until it’s incorporated. Do not over mix. The consistency should be like slow-moving lava. To check for consistency, the batter should flow from your spatula like thick lava and hold a ribbon for a couple seconds. If it falls into clumps and doesn’t fall slowly, it is not mixed enough. Keep mixing slowly so that the batter deflates a bit and the proper consistency is reached.

Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with a smooth, round 1/2 inch tip. Holding the bag in two hands directly over the parchment, pipe a small amount of batter into the first circle stencil. Stop pipping right as the batter reaches the edge of the circle. The batter will spread so don’t add too much. Move on to the other circles until all the batter is gone. When you get to the end of the batter, a lot of it will stick to the bag. To push it down, use the edge of a bench scrapper.

After you’ve pipped all the circles, smack the baking sheets on the counter a couple times to release air bubbles. Use a toothpick to pop all the air bubbles. If you don’t do this step, the air bubbles will release steam while baking and crack the shells.

Let them sit to dry out until the tops are smooth to the touch, about 30 minutes. They are done when you rub your finger over the top and your finger doesn’t stick.

Bake macarons in preheated oven for 14-16 minutes. Make sure to rotate the sheet halfway through, for even baking. Remove from oven and let them cool for 5 minutes before transferring parchment sheet to a wire rack to finish cooling.

While the macarons shells cool, make the pistachio buttercream. (see recipe below)

Lay half of the macarons flat side up on a baking sheet. Cut a little corner off the bag with the buttercream and pipe a small circle of buttercream in the center of one shell. Top with the other shell and gently press just enough to push the filling out to the edges. Do this for all the macaron shells until done.

Once filled, macarons can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days. Or you can freeze for up to five months.

FOR THE PISTACHIO BUTTERCREAM:

Add powdered sugar and pistachios to food processor. Process for 30 seconds so that the mixture is fine. 

In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat the butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar mixture, heavy cream, and almond extract and beat until well combined. Turn mixture to medium high and beat for 2 more minutes. 

Scrape buttercream into a plastic storage bag without a piping tip. Cut off a small corner off the bag and begin macaron assembly above.

NOTES

Recipe for the pistachio buttercream adapted from Food Nouveau

Ingredients:

1 cup of Pistachios

4 Cups Filtered Water 

Instructions:

1-Soak your Dry Pistachios for six hours, or overnight. Optionally, you can then peel the pistachios for brighter green pistachio milk, or if you are in Hurry, you can Soak Dry Pistachios in Boiling water for 3-5 minutes – however, this isn’t necessary.

2-Add the soaked pistachios into a processor/blender and blend on high. You want to blend the nuts down into small pieces, without blending too much to become pistachio butter.

3-When the nuts are ready, then add the water and blend again for about 2 minutes.

4- Put the liquid in a bottle, you can keep it for 3-4 days. Whenever you want to drink some, give the bottle a good shake, and you’re ready to go.

Notes

If you wanted to peel your pistachios, you can dry out the skins and add them to porridge/smoothies for additional dietary fiber. 

Optional Homemade Pistachio Milk Add-Ins:

• For a natural sweetener, dates are wonderful you can add them in blender in 3rd Step.

• Add Vanilla extract to your pistachio milk for that dessert element. 

• You could combine this DIY pistachio milk with other middle-eastern dessert flavors including rose water, orange blossom water, cardamom, etc. 

• This homemade pistachio milk makes a wonderful base for Matcha recipes.

This Traditional food is called jeweled rice because it is golden and glistening, laced with butter and spices and piled with nuts and gem-colored fruits. In Iran, it is typically served at weddings or other celebrations. Great platters of it appear at banquets. 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups best-quality Basmati rice

 Kosher salt

 Unsalted butter, 6 tablespoons in total

1 large onion, diced small

¼ teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled and soaked in 1/4 cup hot water

 Large pinch ground cinnamon

 Large pinch ground cardamom

 Large pinch ground allspice

 Large pinch ground black pepper

 Large pinch ground cumin

⅓ cup chopped dried apricots

⅓ cup golden raisins or currants

⅓ cup dried imported barberries or goji berries, soaked in warm water for 5 minutes and drained (or use 1/3 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries)

⅓ cup blanched slivered almonds

⅓ cup roughly chopped pistachios.

Instructions:

Step 1

Rinse the rice several times in cold water until the water runs clear. Drain. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot with 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Add the rinsed rice and boil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, then drain well in a colander.

Step 2

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, season lightly with salt and cook until softened and lightly colored, 4 to 5 minutes. Moisten with 1 tablespoon saffron water and stir in the cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, black pepper and cumin. Cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the apricots, raisins (or currants) and barberries (or cherries or cranberries).

Step 3

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a heavy-bottomed enamel or nonstick Dutch oven over medium heat. Spread half the par-cooked rice over the bottom of the pot. Spoon over the onion-fruit mixture, then the remaining rice. Leave the pot on the flame, uncovered, for 5 to 8 minutes to gently brown the rice. (Do not stir or move the rice — you will need to rely on your nose to tell if the rice has browned.)

Step 4

Drizzle the remaining saffron water over the rice and put on the lid. Adjust the heat to very low and leave undisturbed for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest at least 10 minutes.

Step 5

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat and gently toast the almonds and pistachios for a minute or so, taking care not to get them too brown. Set aside for garnish.

Step 6

To serve, spoon the rice into a wide bowl or platter. With a spatula, carefully lift the bottom crust, placing the crisp side up. Sprinkle with the toasted nuts.

230g unsalted butter, room temperature 

200g caster sugar

Zest of 2 oranges

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

70g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

200g pistachios, plus extra for decoration

Seeds from 1 pomegranate

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and grease a deep 20cm round cake tin with a little butter and line the base with parchment paper. 

To make the cake place the pistachios into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground (to prevent the nuts forming a paste you can add a tbsp of the flour to the processor).

Place the butter in a bowl and, using an electric mixer, beat until light and creamy for 4 min. After it Add  the orange zest and the sugar then beat together until fluffy, around 6 min.

Add the eggs a little at a time, beating until fully combined. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt together, add the pistachios and mix together. Add the dry goods to the butter mixture and gently fold together until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and gently level out. 

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and when a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, if the cake is browning too quickly lightly cover with a piece of foil. 

Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. To finish the cake sprinkle with extra chopped pistachios and the seeds from a pomegranate. 

Because this cake is made with ground nuts it keeps brilliantly, at least 4 days if kept in a sealed container. 

Notes: You can use pistachios from supermarkets but the colour won’t be as vibrant and as they are roasted the cake won’t be quite as moist – green pistachios available.