pistachio

When you are looking for a delicious loaf cake with an unctuous texture that’s even better the next day. This is the cake for you.
Pistachios are my favourite nuts so I wanted to create a loaf cake with an intense Pistachio flavor and a hint of spice.

Pistacious give the loaf cake a buttery nutty flavour, the hint of cardamom adds just a little bit of warmth. The lemon juice in the icing adds just enough “zing” to balance it all out. .

Adding olive oil ensure that the cake stays nice and moist and it will keep for 4 days but I can assure you it will not last that long.

This is the perfect cake to make in the weekend to have with tea or coffee and even as breakfast

For this recipe I used unsalted (shelled) pistachios and placed them in a blender and blitz them a few times until fine crumbs, like almond flour consistency. Don’t over grind the pistachios because you might end up with pistachio butter.

INGREDIENTS:

Dry:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1 cup pistachios shelled then ground to flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kitchen salt
1 1/2 tsp cardamom

Wet:
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup mild flavour olive oil
1/2 cup natural unsweetened yogurt
2 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze:
1/4 c icing sugar
2 tsp lemon juice or water

Optional: edible rose petals or other flowers.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre heat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
In a large bowl add the dry ingredients and stir well to combine. Add the wet ingredients to a jug and beat together. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
Pour the batter into the tin.
Tap the tin a few times on the kitchen counter to remove any air bubbles.
Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out just dry.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely before icing.
To make the icing, combine icing sugar with lemon juice and mix until smooth.
Pour over cake in zig-zag pattern and sprinkle with dry (edible) rose petals. The rose petals are optional but look beautiful and also taste great with the pistachios.
Enjoy!

Pistachio Dukkah makes everything better, seriously, I make a big batch and besides putting it on these awesome juicy chicken skewers, I put it on Avocado toast, Salads and any other kind of savory sandwich. It adds a nice spiced crunch with nuttiness that I just love. So make a double batch while you’re at it because it’s just great to have some on hand.
The other thing that makes these skewers so awesome is the Tahini marinade. Yes Tahini… so good.
Tahini, with garlic and lemon juice, oregano and yoghurt. So simple and yet so full of flavour. I think we’ll be eating this a lot.
Za’atar is a middle eastern spice mix of fresh thyme, sesame seeds, sumac and salt. It’s also delicious to dip bread in olive oil first and then Za’atar as a snack.

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Prep time : 20 minutes
Cooking time : 20 minutes
Serves : 4
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INGREDIENTS:

For the Chicken:
• 3 large skinless Chicken breasts or 4 small ones, cut into cubes
• 2 tbsp. Tahini paste
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and grated
• 2 tbsp. plain yoghurt

For the Pistachio Dukkah:

• 1/2 cup Pistachios, shelled
• 3 tbsp. Sesame Seed s
• 3 tbsp. Coriander seeds
• 3 tbsp. Cumin
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 2 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 2 tsp. ground black pepper,
• olive oil for drizzling

For the Za’atar Yoghurt Dip:

• 1 cup plain Yoghurt
• 2 tsp. Za’atar
• a drizzle of olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

To marinated the chicken, place tahini paste, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and yoghurt in a bowl. Mix with a spoon and add the chicken cubes. Cover with foil and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least a few hours an preferably over night.
Pre-soak wooden skewers in warm water for 20 minutes.
Pre heat the oven to 200 C / 400 F
To make the Pistachio Dukkah, get out a frying pan and place over medium heat. Toast the sesame seeds, coriander seeds and cumin for a minute or two stirring constantly and until fragrant. Remove to a plate and let cool.
Meanwhile, tip the pistachios into a small food processor and blitz until finely chopped, but still with some texture, add the toasted seeds and spices into the processor and blitz again until finely chopped. Set aside until ready to use.
Make the Yoghurt dip by simply mixing the ingredients, place in a bowl until ready to serve. Sprinkle with some pomegranate seeds if you like.
Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers and sprinkle generously with the Pistachio Dukkah, pressing it in with your fingers.
Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan over a medium-high heat. Spry with some oil. Cook the chicken skewers , turning regularly to prevent burning. When nicely charred, but not cooked through, transfer to a lined baking tray. When all the chicken skewers are browned, drizzle them with some more olive oil. Pop the chicken into the oven for about 5-10 minutes, or until they are cooked through. Serve the skewers with the Za’atar yoghurt dip and some more Dukkah.

Enjoy!

Myra XO