Pistachio Creme Brulee With Blackberries And Pomegranate Recipes

BANANA, GINGER, AND BERRY CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Warm half-and-half in a saucepan until almost boiling and set aside to cool. In a bowl, beat egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar until mixture turns pale. Slowly beat in small amounts of warm half-and-half until all is incorporated. Set custard mixture aside. Peel 1 1/2 bananas and slice thin, reserving other 1/2 banana for later. Wash berries.
• Place some banana slices and a few berries in the bottom of 8 individual ramekins or custard cups. Sprinkle ground ginger evenly over bananas in each cup. Pour custard over fruit in each cup.
• Place ramekins in baking pan. Add water to about halfway up the sides of ramekins. Bake for 1 hour or until tops are golden. Cool in refrigerator. Top each cooled ramekin with a few slices of the remaining banana. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Place ramekins under broiler until sugar is melted and brown.
• Garnish with remaining berries and 1 or 2 leaves of fresh mint.

PISTACHIO CREME BRULEE WITH BLACKBERRIES AND POMEGRANATE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Whisk together the cream and pistachio paste in a large saucepot, and then scrape and add the vanilla bean and the pistachios. Steep over medium-low heat 20 minutes, and then remove from the heat.
• Whisk together 1 cup of the sugar and the egg yolks in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the warm cream to the yolks and whisk quickly to temper the egg mixture. Add in the remaining cream, a little at a time, whisking constantly. When all of the cream has been incorporated, strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl.
• Place 4 creme brulee ramekins into a 2-inch-deep baking pan. Evenly divide the custard between the ramekins, filling to the top. Carefully add the boiling water into the pan until it is halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Carefully (so no water gets in the custard) place the baking pan into the oven and bake until the custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the ramekins from the water bath and refrigerate.
• Combine the blackberries, mint, pomegranate seeds and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl, and let sit 10 minutes.
• When the custards have cooled, sprinkle the tops with sugar and brulee with a torch until the sugar caramelizes. Garnish with the blackberry-pomegranate mixture and serve immediately.

KALE SALAD WITH PISTACHIOS & POMEGRANATE

Steps:

• Julienne the kale leaves: Grasp the bottom of the stem with one hand, and use the other to firmly strip the leaf from the stem on either side; discard the stem. Repeat with all the leaves. Stack the leaves, roll them like a cigar, and coarsely chop crosswise to create ribbons of kale. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
• Vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream, whisking continuously. At least 30 minutes before serving, combine the kale with half of the vinaigrette; use your hands to toss, making sure each leaf is coated. Letting the leaves rest in the vinaigrette eliminates the need for massaging. Set aside.
• Just before serving, slice thin half-moons of red onion; separate the slices with your fingers, and sprinkle on the salad. Add the pistachios, pomegranate seeds, and cooked quinoa. Top with some or all of the remaining vinaigrette as needed, then toss well with your hands to combine. Transfer to serving plate, making sure the ingredients are evenly distributed, and serve immediately.

POMEGRANATE-PISTACHIO PILAF

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring the lentils to a boil in about 1 cup water; reduce the heat to low and let simmer until just tender, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until the onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the sausage, if using, and cook, breaking up any clumps, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in the rice, pistachios, fennel seeds, turmeric, thyme and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until the rice is opaque, about 3 minutes. Stir into the lentils and add 1 3/4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover completely and simmer over low heat until cooked, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, without removing the cover, 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and top with the pomegranate seeds.

PISTACHIO CRèME BRûLéE WITH SOUR CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Spread pistachios on a baking sheet and toast until nuts are fragrant but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely. Rub off and discard any loose skins (some will remain on nuts).
• Pulse nuts with granulated sugar in a food processor just until finely chopped. (Do not blend to a paste.)
• Stir together nuts and cream with a pinch of salt in a 1-quart heavy saucepan and cook over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just hot. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 30 minutes.
• Rinse kitchen towel under cold water and wring out as much water as possible. Line a large sieve with towel, then set sieve over a bowl or large glass measure and pour pistachio mixture into towel. Wrap towel up around mixture and, working over sieve, squeeze pistachio cream from towel into bowl. Discard ground pistachios.
• Lightly beat yolks in a medium bowl, then whisk in pistachio cream. Divide mixture among gratin dishes.
• Arrange gratin dishes on a metal rack set in a roasting pan and bake in a hot water bath until custards are just set around edges but centers tremble slightly when dishes are gently shaken, about 20 minutes. Remove gratin dishes from pan and cool, uncovered, then chill, covered, at least 4 hours. (Custards will set completely as they chill.)
• Very gently blot any moisture from surface of chilled custards with paper towels. Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons turbinado sugar evenly over each custard, then move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth just over sugar until sugar is melted and caramelized. Serve with sour cherry sauce.

PISTACHIO CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Blanch and peel unsalted pistachio nuts.
• Add 1 tablespoon of rosewater and grind in a mortar and pestle to a paste.
• Separate 5 egg yolks and blend with a third of a cup of sugar, stir until blended.
• Pour double cream into a saucepan, add the pistachio paste
• and simmer over a medium heat for five minutes. You can add a little more rosewater to taste, factoring in the additional sweetness of the sugar. Strain.
• add the cream to the eggs and sugar slowly, gently stirring it in.
• pour the mixture into four ramekins, filling to just below the rim
• Put the ramekins in a roasting tray with enough warm water to reach half way up the ramekins. Put in a 170c oven for about forty minutes. It's best to keep an eye on it, the edges should be firm with a bit of wobble left in the middle.
• refrigerate for at least a few hours. One of the advantages of this dish is that you can make it the day before and bring it out of the fridge at the last minute
• Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over each ramekin
• and level it evenly. Ignite the blowtorch and work it over until
• golden brown.