True pistachio oil is 100% made out of pistachio nuts.
Other nut oils taste of the nuts they are made out of, and this is also the case with pistachio oil, but pistachio oil has a very strong taste. It has a deep, slightly musky, earthy taste. The oil is also notable for its colour – a bright green.
There are all sorts of uses for pistachio oil:
- It can be drizzled over steamed or lightly boiled vegetables, especially green beans
- It’s good in a vinaigrette paired with a sweetish acid, such as orange juice, thick balsamic vinegar, or pomegranate molasses. Also with tarragon vinegar sweetened with honey.
- As a dip for bread
- On a crostini of figs and a soft white cheese such as brie or camembert, or goats’ cheese
- It’s especially good with bitter greens – endive, watercress and rocket
- It’s interesting on seafood – shrimp or prawn, for example, together with some garlic and lime
- Drizzle over steamed fish, especially oily fish such as salmon, trout, sardines and tuna (drizzle over a salad niçoise)
- Drizzle over grilled chicken breasts
- Drizzle over pasta and grated Parmesan
- It goes particularly well with avocado – serve on pumpernickel with a spritz of lime
- Drizzle judiciously over baklava
- Brush nectarines, peaches or apricots with pistachio oil, grill and serve with vanilla ice cream and chopped pistachio nuts, chopped amaretti biscuits and a drizzle of honey.
- Make a nut mousse comprised of two parts double cream to one part toasted pistachios, add sugar and oil to taste
- It goes well with any crumble or pie containing apples or pears
- It’s good added to nutty biscuits and cookies