Pistachio Phyllo Crisps Food

PISTACHIO PHYLLO CRISPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Finely grind pistachios in an electric coffee/spice grinder, then stir in sugar.
• Cut phyllo sheet crosswise into 3 equal pieces, then stack pieces between wax paper and cover stack With a lightly dampened kitchen towel. Arrange 1 piece of phyllo on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and brush with some butter. Sprinkle with half of pistachio sugar and top with another piece of phyllo. Brush phyllo with some butter and sprinkle with remaining pistachio sugar. Top with remaining piece of phyllo, pressing down gently, and brush with some butter. Chill stack 10 minutes.
• Using rim of a ramekin as a guide, cut out 2 (4-inch) rounds with a sharp paring knife and discard scraps. Cover rounds with a piece of parchment and bake in middle of oven until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool crisps on baking sheet on a rack.

CHAI-SPICED CRèME CARAMELS WITH RASPBERRIES AND PISTACHIO PHYLLO CRISPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Bring milk, cream, cardamom, peppercorns, fennel seeds, cinnamon sticks, and cloves to a boil in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook granulated sugar in a dry small heavy saucepan over moderate heat, swirling pan (to help sugar melt evenly), until sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel. Immediately pour caramel into ramekins, tilting to cover bottoms evenly.
• Whisk together whole egg and yolk in a large bowl. Bring spiced milk to a boil again, then add to eggs in a slow stream, whisking. Pour custard base through a fine sieve into a 2-cup measure. Add brown sugar and a pinch of salt, then stir until sugar is dissolved. Divide custard between ramekins.
• Bake custards in a water bath in middle of oven until set but still trembling slightly, about 30 minutes. (Custards will continue to set as they cool.) Remove ramekins from water and cool crème caramels on a rack. Chill, loosely covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 3 hours.
• Just before serving, run a knife around inside edges of ramekins. Arrange raspberries, open ends up, over entire surface of custards, pressing gently to adhere. Place a pistachio phyllo crisp over each ramekin and invert onto a plate, then carefully remove ramekins.

ORANGE-PISTACHIO PHYLLO DIAMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking dish. Combine the almond paste, whole eggs, egg yolks, melted butter and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor. Pulse until combined with a few small lumps of almond paste. Add 1 tablespoon orange blossom water, the baking powder, salt and vanilla; pulse to combine. Add the phyllo pieces and pulse until finely chopped. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and firm on top, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the syrup: Heat the orange juice, honey, lemon juice, the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and the remaining 1 tablespoon orange blossom water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
• Remove the baking dish from the oven and immediately pour half of the syrup over the cake; let soak in, 15 minutes. Add the pistachios to the remaining syrup and pour over the cake, spreading the pistachios with a rubber spatula. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely in the pan, about 3 hours, tipping the pan occasionally to distribute the syrup. Cut diagonally into small diamonds.

PISTACHIO PLUM CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, cardamom and salt in a medium bowl. Work the butter into the dry ingredients using your hands until completely incorporated (it will be soft and slightly sticky). Stir in 3/4 cup pistachios and set aside.
• For the filling: Toss the plums, granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and rose water, if using, together in a 3-quart baking dish. Scatter the topping over the plums, then scatter the remaining 1/4 cup chopped pistachios on top.
• Bake until the fruit bubbles and the crumble is golden brown and crisped, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

CHOCOLATE-PISTACHIO PHYLLO ROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat cream with cinnamon in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Stir into chocolate to melt. Finely chop 2 tablespoons nuts; set aside. Stir remaining nuts into chocolate. Spoon chocolate into a resealable plastic bag; cut 1 inch off one corner.
• Lay 1 sheet phyllo on a work surface (cover remaining sheets with a damp kitchen towel). Lightly brush surface with melted butter; lay another sheet on top, and brush with more melted butter.
• Immediately pipe chocolate along a short side of phyllo, 11/2 inches from edges.Tightly roll into a log, lightly brushing with butter at each turn and tucking in ends. Brush log with butter; cover with a damp kitchen towel. Repeat process to make 2 more logs.
• Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet; bake 15 minutes. Rotate sheet; brush logs with butter. Sprinkle with reserved nuts. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes more. Let cool completely; dust with sugar. Cutting in a swift motion, divide each log into 8 pieces.

RASPBERRY PHYLLO CUPS WITH PISTACHIO CREAM

Steps:

• Position rack in lower third of oven. Heat oven to 350°F Butter inside and rims of 6 LARGE muffin cups with 2 tbsp of butter.
• Melt in sauce pan 1/4 cup butter.
• Measure out sugar and set aside.
• Stack 4 sheets of phyllo dough flat on top of each other and cover with plastic wrap and damp towel to prevent drying.
• Place one sheet of dough on workstation and brush with melted butter then sprinkle with sugar. Cover with second sheet of phyllo dough; butter it and sprinkle with sugar in same manner. Repeat process for remaining sheets.
• Cut stacks in 12 square stacks, 4 1/2 inches per side ( 4 strips lengthwise, 3 widthwise). Place 1 square stack in muffin cup; ease it in with the back of fingers so it covers half of the bottom and rises to hang over the side of the cup. Ease in second stack, slightly overlapping the first to cover the other half of muffin cup. Repeat for 5 remaining cups. Bake dough until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes; let cool completely then remove from muffin cups.
• Whip together in bowl until almost stiff heavy cream, sour cream, 2 table spoons sugar and vanilla.
• Fold in pistachios.
• Just before serving, place phyllo cup on serving plate and divide cream among cups.
• Garnish cups with fresh raspberries and mint sprigs.
• Serve immediately.

MEDITERRANEAN APRICOT PHYLLO BITES

Steps:

• Place almonds and apricots in a food processor; cover and process until finely chopped. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon butter, honey, lemon zest and extract; add almond mixture and stir until blended., Lightly brush one sheet of phyllo with remaining butter; place another sheet of phyllo on top and brush with butter. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Cut the two layered sheets into three 14x3-in. strips., Place 1-1/2 teaspoons filling in lower corner of each strip. Fold dough over filling, forming a triangle. Fold triangle up, then fold triangle over, forming another triangle. Continue folding, like a flag, until you come to the end of the strip. Brush end of dough with butter and press onto triangle to seal. Turn triangle and brush top with melted butter. Repeat., Place triangles on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

SAUTEED MUSHROOMS IN PHYLLO CRISPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack positioned in the center. Melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, and set aside. Set 2 tablespoons of the thyme aside. Brush a mini-muffin tin with melted butter, and set tin aside.
• Place 1 sheet phyllo dough on a clean, dry work surface; brush the entire sheet generously with melted butter. Sprinkle lightly with reserved thyme. Place another sheet phyllo on top, brush with butter, and sprinkle with thyme. Repeat with 2 more sheets phyllo. Cut stack into twelve 3-inch squares. Gently press each square into muffin-tin cup. Bake until edges are just golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Repeat step two with 4 more sheets phyllo dough, melted butter, and thyme. Repeat again, for a total of 36 crisps. (The crisps may be made one day ahead and kept in an airtight container.)
• In a large skillet, melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add shallots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme. Continue cooking, stirring often, until mushrooms have released some liquid and have cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Place 1/4 teaspoon goat cheese in the bottom of each phyllo crisp, and place 1 heaping teaspoon of the mushroom mixture on top of the goat cheese. Transfer the filled cups to a baking sheet. Cook in oven just until heated through, about 3 minutes. Garnish with more thyme, and serve.

APRICOT TART WITH PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lay 1 sheet phyllo on a parchment-lined 12-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon butter and brush to coat the entire phyllo sheet.
• Top with another sheet and butter as above. Repeat with 7 more sheets, for a total of 9, buttering as you go. The final, top layer should also be buttered. (The rest of the phyllo can be wrapped and frozen for future use.)
• Dot the top sheet with jam by the teaspoon, then, using a spatula, spread the jam to cover the entire sheet, leaving a 2-inch border.
• Sprinkle a layer of half the chopped pistachios over the jam. Place the apricot wedges, skin-side down, in even rows across the surface, then sprinkle again with remaining pistachios.
• Carefully fold over the edges on all sides of the tart to make a 10-by-16-inch rectangle. Brush folded sides with butter. Sprinkle sugar generously over apricots and folded edges.
• Bake until pastry is golden and apricots begin to color, about 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes, then cut into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.