This is my entry for the September The Recipe Redux. The theme this month is "Dressing for Success" - condiments, spreads, and salad dressings. The goal is to make a regular recipe more healthy by incorporating more whole foods, less saturated fat, etc.
I typically don’t use dressing on my salads, so I moved on to the spread category. After telling my wife about the theme for the month we talked about a few different ideas. I settled on Pistachio Butter because she loves pistachios, and I thought a home-made version would be more healthy than the store-bought nut butters. This recipe has no added salt or sugar, and depending on your palate, no added fat.
This nutty spread is delicious and very easy to make. The most difficult part was finding raw shelled pistachios. I found several stores selling raw pistachio in the shell, but I was lazy didn’t want to spend an hour shelling. I experimented with roasting and blanching. I liked the raw taste better (sweeter), and it was easier.
The butter is slightly sweet and has a nice thick texture similar to wasabi. If you love pistachios, you need to make this butter!
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw unsalted pistachios
- 3-7 teaspoons vegetable oil (optional)
- I added the raw pistachios to my blender (vita-mix) and blended on high in short bursts. A powder developed first, and then a paste.
- If you like a creamy texture then add a tiny amount of oil in 1/2-1 teaspoon increments until your desired consistency is reached. We like it with 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil.
Pistachio Butter by
Yield: about 2 cups
Other Recipe Redux Participants:
- Carlene Helble-Carlene's Figments - Roasted Eggplant Pepper Schmeer
- Deanna Segrave-Daly - Teaspoon of Spice - Sicilian Relish
- Cherie Schetselaar Grain Crazy - Fry Sauce
- Dr Barb - Nutrition Budgeteer - Jalapeno Ranch Dressing is Versatile & Healthier
- Elizabeth Jarrard- Don't (White) Sugar-Coat it - Spicy Tahini Dressing
- Kara Lydon - Peace, Love, and Food - Edamame Hummus
- Kat Lynch - Eating The Week - Citrus Sesame Avocado Dressing
- Emma Stirling - The Scoop on Nutrition - Recipe Redux Kitchen Garden Salsa Verde
- Emma Cutfield-The Hearty Heart - Go-Go-Goji: Blood Building Salad Dressing
- Lisa @ Healthful Sense - Sweet Peanut Sauce & Dressing
- Regan @ The Professional Palate - Ponzu Sauce
- Danielle Omar - Food Confidence RD - Recipe Redux: Your New Favorite Vinaigrette
- Stephanie Howard - Give Them Something Better - Creamy Garlic Feta Dressing
- Nicole Ferring Holovach - Whole Health RD - Mapple Salad Dressing
- Kristen @ Swanky Dietitian - Italian Vinaigrette Artichoke Dressing
- Ann Dunaway Teh - Eat to Nourish, Energize & Flourish - Thai Basil Peanut Pesto
- Kristina @ Love and Zest - Spiced Pumpkin Dip
- Meg @ Meg's Food Reality - Sweet Potato Hummus
- gretchen | kumquat - dariy-free ranch dressing
- Everyday Tastiness - Pistachio Butter
- Alysa Bajenaru - Inspired RD - How to Roast Garlic & a Recipe for Roasted Garlic Hummus
- EA Stewart-The Spicy RD - Creamy Triple Pepper and Kale Dip
- Liz Weiss & Janice Newell Bissex - Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen - Garden-Fresh Tomato & Avocado Salsa
- Jessica Fishman Levinson - Nutritioulicious - Butternut Squash Cream Cheese Spread
WOW - does this sound divine (and on top of rosemary bread to boot) - yum! Thrilled to have you on board with Recipe ReDux!
ReplyDeleteDeanna: It was amazing. I will be making it again. Such a great combination of texture and flavors - so tasty. I'm happy to be part of the group! :)
ReplyDeletePistachio butter sounds fabulous! I was searching the stores a few weeks ago for unshelled pistachios, but couldn't find any...Perhaps I'll have to look some more, because, you're right-not so fun spending hours shelling pistachios! So glad you joined the Recipe ReDux!
ReplyDeleteCostco has unshelled, but they are roasted and salted. I found mine in the bulk section of the local co-op.
ReplyDeleteGotta get making my own nut butters-thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI've been enjoying making my own nut butters. You can get the taste and texture just where you like it. Very tasty too!
ReplyDeleteSo simple, but so good!
ReplyDeleteChris, thanks for all of your help with The ReDux. You've already made the group better!
Thanks Regan. I enjoyed the challenge this month!
ReplyDeletethat color is so amazing.! i've been loving my cashew butter, but now i need some of this pistachio one everyday!
ReplyDeleteRicha @ Hobby And More Food Blog
Richa: It tastes great. I need to make some more cashew butter too!
ReplyDeletepistachio butter?!?! I must try this.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds AMAZING!
ReplyDeletehealthierhappierjeffie: you should!
ReplyDeletecelyn: it is! you should try it.
This is so exciting! I've never heard of pistachio butter but I will definitely be trying this recipe... like, tomorrow. I have 3 lbs of those dang nuts in my pantry and now I finally have something to do with them other than just straight up eating them from the bag.
ReplyDelete