Pistachio Garlic Sauce
I’ve been racking my brains to for a recipe that isn’t pasta. That this took the better part of two weeks bespeaks a profound lack of creativity on my part.
A pandemic will do that to a person.
The news changes hourly; now we’re told we should wear masks. My sewing skills are limited: in my dancing days I sewed elastics onto my ballet slippers. Occasionally I reattach a lost button. Masks are beyond me.
Scrappy DIY online tutorials calling for old pillowcases and rubberbands assume one has such items are lying around. Me, I have aprons. Aprons are designed for tall, willowy people. I am neither. Thus is was no heartbreak to sacrifice one of my otherwise useless aprons up to juryrig this very silly mask, which scared the poor kitty senseless.
Moments after this photo was taken, Lulu bolted off, taking shelter behind a bookshelf. This hardly seemed an inappropriate action.
Mask loosely affixed, you hostess went food shopping last Tuesday, her third time out of the house in six weeks.
Markets everywhere have changed their hours and their rules. Where Bay Area shoppers were once admonished to bring their own bags or be charged, now we must leave our bags at home. Only a certain number of shoppers are permitted into stores at a time. We had to line up outside, six feet apart.
While waiting to check out, we again had to line up six feet apart, and could not place our groceries on the conveyer belt until the shopper ahead of us had paid and departed. The cashiers stood behind plexiglass panels.
This all sounds militaristic in the telling, but people are so scared they’ll get sick that nobody complains. At least, not when I’ve been out. In fact, there was even a sense of camaraderie, of happiness to be out and about.
Even if we were all terrified.
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Pistachio Garlic Sauce came about because I was leafing through The Zuni Cafe Cookbook one morning and found it. The recipe appears in the “Dishes To Start A Meal” chapter, and is paired with grilled asparagus. I happened to have asparagus in the house, and decided to give it a go.
Rodgers notes this sauce falls into the French family of emulsions called aïllades, which translates as “garlicky things.” This particular garlicky thing comes from Elizabeth David’s magisterial French Country Cooking recipe for L’Alïade Toulousaine.
Before you start getting sniffy about asparagus or pistachios know that David’s sauce is made with walnuts, which are cheaper than pistachios. You may also use almonds, if you want to take a middling route (they’re cheaper than pistachios, at least.)
The citrus element is also forgiving. Rodgers suggests using a mandarin, tangerine, or an orange; given current circumstances, a lemon would work if necessary. As for olive oil, that’s not hard to find right now.
The touch of brandy is optional, but really does add flavor here. And the hour’s mellowing time is worth every minute–taste the sauce immediately after pounding it and an hour later. You’ll agree.
Pistachio Garlic Sauce is indeed delicious with grilled asparagus, but if that’s a laughable impossibility, don’t despair. We ate most of the sauce over roasted chicken thighs and boiled Basmati rice, and it was wonderful.
Leftovers hold well up to five days….or so the books says. It lasted us one meal.
Pistachio Garlic Sauce
Minimally adapted from Judy Rodger’s Zuni Cafe Cookbook
yield: about 3/4 cup/175ml
Preparation time: about 15 minutes, plus one hour of resting time
Please see notes for ingredient variations
approximately 4 ounces/1/2 cup/100 g shelled unsalted pistachios
1-3 small garlic cloves
one small mandarin, orange, or tangerine, zested
about 1/4 cup/60 ml good olive oil
dash of brandy or grappa (or a tiny, tiny hit of Cointreau)
pinch salt
You will need either a medium to large mortar and pestle or small food processor to make pistachio garlic sauce. I used the food processor.
Sort through the nuts carefully, discarding any shriveled or imperfect pieces.
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C, or turn the oven burner to medium low. Spread the nuts on a medium baking sheet or small frying pan. Warm them briefly, about two minutes, to heat the oils. Take care not to burn them.
Tip nuts into mortar or small processor and either pound or process into paste. Add olive oil gradually. You want a thick paste, thicker than pesto or mayonnaise, but not too chunky.
Add garlic and pound or puree.
Using a vegetable parer or knife, peel orange zest from citrus, chop finely, and add to sauce. Tip in brandy and salt. Stir to blend.
Tip sauce into bowl and allow to flavors to marry at least one hour. This resting time is critical; initially sauce will taste quite harsh.
One hour later, stir with fork blend (it may separate a bit) and serve with vegetables, poultry, rice, pasta, or bread.
Notes:
No pistachios? Use shelled unsalted walnuts or almonds. Don’t use peanuts–you’ll get peanut butter when you grind it.
Rodgers calls for one small garlic cloves. I used a bit more, but be judicious; you don’t want the garlic to overpower the recipe.
No oranges? Use lemons.
Use decent olive oil-in a recipe with so few ingredients, you’re going to taste everything.
Leftover pistachio garlic sauce keeps, covered, in the refrigerator about four days. Do not freeze.
Please excuse the dearth of photographs. The lockdown means I am on full caregiving duty, which is taking its toll.
