Homemade Pure Pistachio Paste

Natural, unsweetened, toasty, one-ingredient Homemade Pure Pistachio Paste, made silky smooth using my chocolate melanger.

Inspiration

Of all the nuts, pistachios are among my top three. Maybe it's because they make you work a little to enjoy them - my fingers hurt a little just thinking about shelling. Maybe it's their jewel-tone colour - deep emerald green if they are the prized and pricey Sicilian or Iranian variety and light green with a pink blush for the more commonly available variety. Perhaps it's their rich, buttery, earthy, nutty flavour that is so well suited for both sweet and savoury applications. All of the above, likely.

Whatever the reason, my pocketbook yields, without resistance, every time I have a craving for pistachios - and that's quite often.

Why Pistachios Are So Pricey

Compared to some of the other popular nuts, pistachios can leave a serious dent in one's wallet. I did a little digging, and here's my slightly comical version of why:

• like boys, pistachio trees take longer to mature 😉 - 6 to 7 years, and sometimes two decades for maturation!
• quality versus quantity - each tree only produces around 23 kilos/50 lbs
• they are selective about where they plant roots (pun intended) - they require cool winters and long, hot summers and good root drainage
• they believe in work-life balance - full production happens every other year
• rage against the machine - only human hands need apply, for the intricate business of sorting cannot be left to machines

Start With Toasty Nuts

Good quality commercially available pistachio paste also comes at a hefty price. Before I received my melanger, I made my own paste and my nut butters in my food processor. If you don't own a melanger, the food processor does a good job. To get the texture I was after, I usually had to add a little pistachio oil to the processor. With my melanger, and only the oils that are naturally present in the nuts, I get a silky paste that rivals a good quality store-bought variety. It's easy:

• I started by spreading out a single layer of fresh, raw pistachios (about 500g), without the shells, on a baking sheet.
• I let them get toasty in a 325ºF oven for 10-12 minutes.
• Allowed them to cool, then added to a food process to create a fine powder - use the pulse button for best results.

You're now ready to move on to refining the nuts into a silky paste.

Roll With It

While you can achieve a decent paste with a food processor, the melanger I own refines particles down to less than 20 microns, resulting in a smoother texture. And it's stupid simple to use:

• If you are using your melanger for the first time, you will need to condition and clean it. You have two options: add 2-3 cups vegetable oil and run for 1 hour or 2-3 cups sugar and run for 20 minutes. Discard the oil or sugar and rinse and dry the drum and rollers. Now you are ready to create all the yum!
• Warm the drum and rollers slightly - this helps with processing ease. I use a heat gun dedicated to chocolate work, taking care to avoid any of the plastic parts. You can also warm the parts in an oven on low, but I have not tried it.
• Turn the machine on and slowly add the processed nuts. You can add a bit of salt, as well - in another batch I added around 0.005% (2.5g)
• Allow to grind for at least two hours until smooth and flowy.

How To Use Your Pistachio Paste

When ready, transfer the paste to a clean, airtight jar and store in a cool place. You can use your new batch of Homemade Pure Pistachio Paste in a number of ways. Here are a few ways I've used it:

• ganache for my halloween chocolate skulls along with a pop of boozy cherry
• pistachio caramels, which I shared the making of on my Instagram stories a few weeks back
• gelato, seen here on my IG feed
• sponge cake for an entremet I'll be sharing soon
• and as a spread on toast to name a few

Here is a quick video!