By Kathryn van
I have always been fascinated — and a bit appalled — by those who can sit and eat straight pistachios. I had a roommate who would sit for hours on end watching TV and systematically shelling and eating those little green nuts. She would buy them in bulk, and as the bag of nuts slowly emptied, the pile of shells in the bowl in front of her would grow and grow until they started sliding off the top and onto the table. In the interest of peer pressure, I tried a few myself, but I could never get into eating them raw.
But I absolutely love using them in cooking.
Pistachios have a wonderful sweet-nutty taste that adds to any fish, chicken, fruit or veggie dish. They can be chopped up as a crunchy topping, sprinkled whole on salads, ground up for fillings and cakes and roasted for topping cookies. You can bake them into muffins, grill them with fish and stir-fry them with asparagus — your imagination is the limit.
And because there are people out there who like to eat them by the pound, you can usually find good nuts in bulk for a decent price. Plus pistachios are great “keepers,” so you don’t have to be afraid of buying a bunch at a time. Just store them in an airtight container in the fridge or put them in the freezer and they will keep for months. If they lose their crunchiness in the fridge, all you need to do is toast them for 10 to 15 minutes at 200 degrees F and they are good as new.
Christmas Ribbon Bars
These bars are exceedingly easy to make and you can use any kind of jam, preserves or marmalade you want for a different taste every time.
1/2 pound butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 2/3 cup jam, preserves or marmalade
2/3 cup pistachios, shelled and chopped
Combine butter, sugar and egg. Beat until thoroughly blended. Stir in flour and salt. Spread one-half of dough into 9-inch square pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes; remove from oven. Spread jam to within 1/2 inch of edge. Add pistachios to remaining dough. Drop by spoonfuls over jam to cover. Bake 35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool. Cut into squares.
Pistachio Stuffed Mushrooms
The nutty pistachio flavor is the perfect counterpoint to the mellow mushrooms.
20 medium mushrooms
3 tablespoons onions, minced
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup dried breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
2 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat broiler. Remove stems from mushrooms and chop finely. Reserve caps. Saute the stems and onion in butter or margarine until tender. Stir in the bread crumbs, pistachios, parsley, marjoram and salt, mixing well. Remove from heat. Place the mushroom caps, stem-side up, on a baking sheet. Fill the centers with the stuffing and sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons melted butter. Broil about 6 inches from heat source for 5 minutes or until browned and heated through.
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