Pistachio Butter

This vibrant green homemade pistachio butter is the result of winning 5kg of pistachios in an Instagram competition a couple of weeks ago.

And when life gives you pistachios, you make pistachio butter! I’ve got a long list of other recipe ideas building up in my head, but thought it would probably make most sense (and be good for the constant quest to improve my SEO) if I published the recipe for this stuff first.

Made with two ingredients and the help of my Thermomix, an appliance I rarely speak about anymore (although that’s probably about to start changing), this luxurious nut butter is up there with one of my favourites to date. What’s even better is that these are Senqu River Pistachios, which are grown in South African and come from a town called Prieska in the Northern Cape.

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Pistachios are members of the cashew family and are technically a seed which grow on small trees native to Central Asia, including what’s known today as Iran and Afghanistan. Pistachios have been consumed for a very long time, as far back as 6750 BCE, which makes them a food with a pretty long history.

These nutrient-dense nuts are high in fibre and protein, which help keep you feeling fuller for longer. Pistachios also contain some of the lowest fat and calories out of all the tree nuts we consume, and they’re also great for baking and cooking both sweet and savoury dishes.

Pistachio Butter

This recipe is so easy it almost feels a bit silly typing it up, but here goes. If you don’t have a powerful blender like the Thermomix and use a food processor instead, this will take a bit longer to make. I like using raw unsalted nuts when making my own nut butter, because I can control the flavour and definitely think blending warm nuts straight out of the oven makes the whole process a lot easier.

Ingredients

• 500g raw unsalted pistachios
• 1 tsp sea salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
2. Place the pistachios in an even layer on a baking tray and roast for 5 minutes, tossing in between and then roasting for another 5 minutes.
3. Place the roasted pistachios and salt in the mixing bowl and blend for 30 sec. / Speed 10.
4. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and continue blending for another 3 min. / Speed 10.
5. Fill a jar (this recipe fits perfectly into a 385ml Le Parfait Jam Jar) and pop the lid on use within 1 month.

NOTES

Rather than cleaning the mixing bowl immediately after whipping this up, add some milk and vanilla ice cream, mix for 30 sec. / Speed 8, et voila – delicious Pistachio Milkshake!