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Brennan said one of the biggest surprises while researching and developing recipes for the cookbook was how easy it is to make your own pistachio meal, flour and butter.
“I hope that comes through for the readers — it’s something you can do at home and it’s just kind of powerful,” she said.
She makes pistachio butter by giving the nuts a quick dip in boiling water, allowing them to dry overnight, then blitzing them in a food processor until the nuts become smooth and creamy.
This pistachio butter becomes a simple sauce for pan-seared shrimp for tacos.
Her experiments with pistachios are ongoing, even though the cookbook is already in stores. Brennan plans to try making a cocktail that combines pistachio oil with her apricot aperitif and some almond syrup from Sonoma Syrup Co., topped with either club soda or sparkling wine.
“Almonds, pistachio and apricots — they all just sing together in that combination. Doesn’t that sound good?”
Roasted Delicata Squash with Harissa Yogurt and Pistachios
Makes 4 servings
This is a handsome side dish to accompany chicken or pork, or you can pair it with couscous or quinoa for a vegetarian main course. Available from summer through early winter, delicata squash has edible yellow-and-green-striped skin. Harissa, a North African chile paste also popular in France, is mixed into yogurt to make a tangy hot sauce to drizzle or spoon over the roasted squash.
2 delicata squash (about 1 pound each)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon harissa or other chile paste
½ cup plain Greek yogurt (whole-milk, low-fat or nonfat)
½ cup pomegranate arils
½ cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
Small cilantro sprigs, for garnish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Trim off both ends of each squash and set aside. Using a metal spoon, scoop out and discard the seeds from each squash. Cut the hollowed-out squashes into a mix of rings 1-inch thick and chunky wedges. Cut some of the rings in half. Transfer all the squash pieces to a large bowl. Trim away the stem and blossom portions from the reserved ends and add the ends to the bowl.
Drizzle the squash pieces with the oil and toss to coat evenly. Turn the squash pieces out onto the prepared sheet pan and spread in a single layer. Season with half the salt and half the pepper. Turn the pieces and season again with the remaining salt and pepper.
Roast the squash pieces until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Turn and roast until just tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes longer. Turn off the oven and let the squash sit in the oven for five minutes before serving.
While the squash is roasting, in a small serving bowl, stir the harissa into the yogurt, mixing well.
To serve, transfer the squash pieces to a platter and scatter the pomegranate arils and pistachios over the top. Garnish with the cilantro and set the bowl of harissa yogurt alongside.
Pistachio Butter-Basted Shrimp Tacos
Makes 8 tacos
With its nutty flavor, pistachio butter is the secret sauce for these quick and easy shrimp tacos. Keep the extras to a minimum — just a little shredded cabbage, cilantro, green onions and a drizzle of crema — to allow the shrimp, with its unusual chile-pistachio flavor, to take center stage.
8 6-inch corn tortillas
1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon chile powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons pistachio butter (recipe follows)
1 cup finely shredded purple cabbage
6 green onions, white and tender green parts, thinly sliced
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
⅓ cup cream or crème fraîche (optional)
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro sprigs
2 limes, quartered
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
Lay a slightly damp kitchen towel near the stove. Preheat a griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add a tortilla and heat until almost soft, about 30 seconds. Turn and heat for 30 seconds on the second side. Transfer to one end of the towel and cover with the other end. Repeat until all the tortillas have been warmed, then wrap in the towel, place on a sheet pan or oven-safe dish and place in the oven until ready to use.
In a frying pan large enough to hold all the shrimp in a single layer, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and sprinkle them evenly with the chile powder and salt. Cook, turning once, until just pink and curled, about two minutes total. Add the pistachio butter to the pan and, as it melts, baste the shrimp with it. Remove from the heat.
Remove the tortillas from the oven, unwrap them and arrange them on a work surface. Divide the shrimp, cabbage, green onions and avocado evenly among the warm tortillas. Place the tacos on a large platter and spoon a little crema on each taco, if desired. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and lime wedges and serve.
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