Pistachio Praline Dacquoise Food

PISTACHIO DACQUOISE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Rub nuts in a towel to remove skins. Coarsely chop nuts; transfer to a sieve, and shake over a paper towel (if desired, reserve dust for garnish); set aside. Draw three 8-inch rounds on parchment paper; place, marked sides down, on 2 baking sheets.
• Stir together nuts and confectioners' sugar in a small bowl; set aside.
• Put egg whites, granulated sugar, salt, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer; set bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk. Beat on medium speed, increasing to high when soft peaks form; continue until stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Gently fold pistachio mixture into egg-white mixture. Spread one-third of the meringue onto each parchment circle (do not smooth tops).
• Bake meringues 1 hour. Switch positions of sheets; reduce temperature to 175 degrees. Bake, switching positions of sheets after 45 minutes, until meringues are dry and crisp and can be lifted easily from parchment, 1 to 2 hours. Turn off oven; let meringues cool in oven 45 minutes. Remove, and let cool completely on sheets.
• Process 2/3 cup raspberries in a food processor until pureed. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard seeds. (Puree can be refrigerated up to 1 day.) Beat pastry cream until smooth; set aside. Beat chilled 1/2 cup heavy cream with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold into pastry cream; set aside.
• Set aside a few berries for garnish. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put one meringue on sheet; spread half of pastry cream on top. Spoon 4 1/2 teaspoons puree in a spiral over pastry cream; swirl with a knife. Top with another meringue. Scatter remaining 1 1/3 cups berries over meringue; spread remaining pastry cream on top, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Spoon remaining puree in a spiral over pastry cream; swirl with a knife. Top with last meringue; gently press to spread filling to edges. Freeze until filling is solid but not completely frozen, 2 to 3 hours.
• Beat remaining heavy cream with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Top dacquoise with whipped cream; garnish with reserved berries, and pistachio dust if desired. Use a serrated knife to cut into wedges; wipe blade clean between cuts.

PISTACHIO PRALINE FOR PISTACHIO DACQUOISE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Spread nuts on baking sheet and toast for 6 to 8 minutes. Do not brown. Keep nuts warm. Lightly oil another baking sheet and set aside.
• Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling pan, until mixture is a medium-amber color. Stir in nuts all at once.
• Pour hot liquid onto prepared baking sheet and spread with a wooden spoon or oiled spatula. Let cool.
• Grind half of praline to a coarse powder for buttercream; chop or crack remainder into small pieces for garnish.

PISTACHIO PRALINE DACQUOISE

Steps:

• Line 2 buttered baking sheets with foil or parchment paper and trace a total of three 13- by 4-inch rectangles on the sheets of foil (2 on one sheet and 1 on the other).
• Make the meringue layers:
• In a food processor grind fine the pistachio nuts with 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the cornstarch. In a large bowl with an 2electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and the salt until they hold soft peaks, beat in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, a little at a time, and the food coloring, and beat the whites until they hold stiff glossy peaks. Fold in the pistachio mixture gently but thoroughly and transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Starting along an edge of a rectangle, pipe the meringue onto the prepared foil, filling in 2 of the rectangles. Outline the edges of the remaining rectangle with 2 rows of the meringue, leaving the center free, and bake the meringues in a preheated 250°F. oven, switching the sheets from one rack to the other after 30 minutes, for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the meringues are firm and dry when touched. Let the meringues cool on the sheets, slide the foil off the sheets, and peel the meringues off the foil carefully. The meringues may be made 1 day in advance and kept wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature.
• Make the filling:
• In a small skillet, preferably non-stick, cook 1/4 cup of the sugar, undisturbed, over moderate heat until it begins to melt, cook it, stirring with a fork, until it is melted completely and turns a golden caramel, and add the pistachio nuts, stirring until they are coated well. Pour the mixture immediately onto a piece of foil and let it cool completely. Break the praline into pieces and grind it fine in a food processor. In a heavy saucepan dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup of the milk, stir in the remaining 3/4 cup milk and the remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and bring the mixture just to a boil, stirring. In a heatproof bowl whisk together the whole egg and the egg yolk, add the milk mixture in a stream, whisking, and transfer the pastry cream to the pan. Bring the pastry cream to a boil, whisking, and simmer it, whisking, for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, whisk in the butter and the kirsch, whisking until the butter is incorporated, and force the pastry cream through a fine sieve into a metal bowl. Stir in the praline and let the pastry cream cool completely, its surface covered with plastic wrap. The filling may be prepared up to this point 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. In a small saucepan sprinkle the gelatin over the water, let it soften for 1 minute, and heat the mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, until the gelatin is dissolved and the liquid is hot. Whisk the gelatin mixture into the pastry cream, set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water, and stir the pastry cream until it is thickened but not set. Remove the bowl from the ice water. In a chilled bowl with an electric mixer beat the heavy cream until it just holds stiff peaks, whisk one third of it into the pastry cream to lighten it, and fold in the remaining cream gently but thoroughly. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip.
• Arrange a solid meringue rectangle, rough side up, on a platter and pipe some of the filling decoratively in rows down the length of it to cover it. Top the filling with the remaining solid meringue rectangle, rough side up, and pipe some of the remaining filling on the meringue in the same manner. Dust the remaining meringue, rough side up, with the confectioners' sugar and set it on top of the filling. Pipe rosettes of the remaining filling on the meringue, garnish them with the pistachios, and chill the dacquoise for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours.

APRICOTS WITH PISTACHIO PRALINE

Steps:

• Place the apricots in alarge pan with water, the sugar, cardamom, peppercorns and lemon juice.
• Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
• remove from the heat, allow to cool, then chill for at least 2 hours.
• For the praline, place the sugar in a small pan with 1 Tbs of water.
• Heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil and simmer rapidly until golden brown.
• While the sugar is boiling, brush a baking sheet with a little oil and scatter the pistachios over it in an even layer, keeping them all close together.
• As soon as the caramel is golden, allow the bubbles to subside, then pour over the nuts and leave to cool and set hard.
• Then, place the praline on a board and, with a heavy knife, chop into shards.
• Divide the apricots between 6 bowls and spoon over a couple of Tbs of the cooking liquer.
• Top each serving with a spoonful of creme fraiche and decorate with the praline shards.