Posts tagged pistachios
The cat lost its tongue – Grilled apricots with goat milk yogurt, figs, cardamom, honey and “langues de chat”
May 18th
Le chat a perdu sa langue – Abricots grillés au yaourt de chêvre, cardamome, figues, miel et langues de chat
One of the best meals I have ever had was in Biarritz, for those who have traveled to France and who went to Pays Basque, must know Biarritz. It’s located in the Southern part of France on the Atlantic coast, close to the Spanish border. I remember this rustic restaurant that looked more like a chic cabin with dark wood decor and an amazing menu. The dessert I ordered was quite simple, just the way I like it. It was a long glass filled with a sheep milk yogurt type of mixture, a cherry compote and topped with honey but it was so good that I still vividly remember at this time the sensation of pleasure I got at the first spoonful.
In the Basque region, you can find wonderful cheeses made with sheep milk since the Pyrénées Mountains are close by, where lots of sheeps are raised.
It’s been a while, I felt like having this particular combination of grilled fruit and goat milk yogurt. I adore grilled fruits, the grilling makes the flavors and sweetness stand out but I find sheep milk yogurt to be stronger and goat yogurt suits my taste buds better. This can be a snack, a dessert or something you make anytime because you have some cravings.
After seeing some beautiful juicy and sweet apricots at my Greek barn, next door, I decided that apricots were part of the game…Summer fruits are out, maybe not at their best quality yet, since it’s still the beginning of the season but Mr. Greek grocer found delicious and sweet ones. He picks himself his fruits and vegetables and gets up at 2am to go to the market, so he always get gorgeous produce.
Langues de chat is literally translated into Cat’s tongues, just because those flat cookies do have that long shape resembling a tiny tongue. They’re usually longer and narrower than the ones I have made.
Their origin is traced back to the XVII century, and their deliciousness kept their popularity through the times. They’re traditional French cookies, and very easy to make, you cannot fail making langue de chat, I promise. Even the beginner bakers will make great langues de chat.
Ingredients for 2
- 3 apricots
- 1 goat milk yogurt
- 2 tbs lavender honey
- 2 figs
- cardamom powder
- 1 tbs pistachios, chopped
For the langues de chat
- 2.64 oz (or 75 g) butter
- 3 egg whites
- 3.52 oz (or 100 g) flour
- 3.52 oz (or 100 g) powder sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation
For the langues de chat
Take the butter out of the refrigerator to room temperature about 30 minutes before using it. In a mixing container, mix butter and sugar together, add vanilla extract. Beat the white slightly (don’t whip them), and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Add flour and mix again.
Using a piping bag (douille) lay a small amount of batter on a silicon sheet (silpat) or parchment paper. Leave some space in between each cookie, they tend to spread when cooking. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 355-360F for about 10-15 minutes until the langues de chat are slightly golden from the sides. Let them cool and set aside.
Grill apricot halves in a grill pan or grid, on each side. Sprinkle some honey on top. Mix cardamom with yogurt.
In a bowl, place 3 apricots halves in the bottom. Add yogurt, top it off with remaining honey, figs and pistachios. Serve with 2 or 3 langues de chat.
Papillotes meli-melo – Mixed fruits with honey, raisins, pistachios and coconut in parchment paper
Oct 15th
Méli-mélo de papillotes – Pommes, poires et bananes au miel, raisins, pistaches et noix de coco en papillotes avec glace vanille
Des pommes, des poires et des….bananes!! I have been thinking about those papillottes for so long. I thought about them kept thinking about them, and always made something else…I kept doing that for weeks. Time to stick to the plan! They’re an express dessert and extremely delicious. We tend to forget that quick meals can be exquisite. Papillottes are so much fun to make and look great when you give one individually to your guests.
Fruit based desserts are light and cooked fruits go deliciously well with spices. Of course, if you like cinnamon, you can add some. I am a big vanilla fan and could use vanilla everywhere. The only place I don’t like vanilla is in perfume. I think it’s way too sweet as a scent but I could drink it! I brought from France some vanilla powder which is basically vanilla beans and pods ground, so the powder is brown like the bean and not white (I have seen it white here) , if you can’t find it, you can add 1 tsp of vanilla extract.
Those papillotes are perfect with apples and pears because they remain firm, and don’t get mushy like peaches or other summer fruits would. Fall just got here and we can enjoy the beautiful fruits it brings along.
Papillote has different meanings, but traditionally it refers to a chocolate candy wrapped in a golden or silver wrap with a personal message included in it. Supposedly it comes from Lyon and they’re consumed during Christmas.
Ingredients for 2 papillotes
- 1 golden apple, peeled and sliced
- 1 large pear, peeled and sliced
- 1 large banana, sliced
- 1 tbs unsalted pistachios
- 1.5 tbs golden raisins
- 1 tbs honey
- 1.5 tbs grated coconut
- 1 tsp vanilla powder
Preparation
In a mixing bowl, add all fruits together, then add honey, vanilla powder, raisins, coconut and pistachios. Mix well. Place in a parchment paper, wrap tightly so no air can get in and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375F. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
More pesto adventures – Fake tacconi with rucola-pistachio pesto and asparagus
Jun 22nd
Ancora una storia di pesto – Tacconi finti con pesto di rucola-pistacchi e asparagi
I have been thinking about this recipe for a while that my grandmother used to make when I was a child, called tacconi. I loved those so much, because they’re always remained a little crunchy and I have always loved pasta that remains al dente, even more al dente than it should be. I would never eat overcooked pasta. My grandmother used to make a ton of those tacconi on Sunday and distribute them between my parents and I and my oncle and kids (since we all lived in the same house, different floors). That was the Sunday treat.
Tacconi are some rustic pasta from Marche region made with half fava bean flour and half regular flour. They’re cut thick and long and are served with a garlic tomato sauce.
I could not find just 100% fava bean flour, so the closest I could get is a mixture of half chick pea, half fava bean flour. Instead of white flour, I used whole wheat flour, that’s why those tacconi have a deep brownish hearty color.
Now the original tacconi have a different shape too, they look like thick spaghetti, not short like those gnocchi shape little nuggets. Actually, I somehow reproduced the shape of gnocchi sardi, called malloreddus. Obviously this dish is somehow a result of two Italian cuisines, the Sardinian and the Marchiggiana…then if you think that pesto is from Genoa, then it combines three cuisines.
As for the pesto, rucola pesto is something I really love, the bitterness of wild rucola mixed with parmesan and pistacchios make a wonderful combination. The asparagus add another green and delicate touch.
Ingredients for 4
For the pasta
- 1/2 cup fava bean flour (or mixed chick pea and fava bean flours if just fava bean not available)
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- water
For the pesto
- 2 cups of wild rucola
- 3 tbs pistacchios
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 tbs parmigiano reggiano
- 4 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 bunch asparagus
Preparation
Start preparing the pesto. Mix all ingredients in a mixer and mix until medium consistency, you don’t want to pesto to be too thin, but with some grainy texture, and feel the pistachios.
Cut asparagus in about 1 inch length and cook in boiling water for about 5 minutes or until cooked but still firm.
For the tacconi, mix both flours together in a bowl and add enough water to make a dough that is not sticky or soft but rather thick and dense. Remove from the bowl, and transfer to a well-floured surface, add flour if necessary. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
Let rest in a plastic wrap for about 30 minutes.
Cut the dough in about 2 or three pieces and roll dough into a 1/8 inch cylinder, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Roll each piece pressing with your thomb on a gnocchi board or a fork to give it some ridges. Repeat process with all the dough.
Bring water to a boil, add salt. Transfer the tacconi and cook for about 6-7 minutes.
Drain, transfer to a bowl, add pesto and asparagus. Mix well but carefully not to break tacconi nor asparagus.
