Pistachio and lemon shortbreads recipe
Whoever invented shortbread is a god in my eyes. The best I ever tasted was in Scotland and I have not had any since that could match their superb texture and taste. But that hasn’t put me off making them at home.
Being Persian, I have a natural inclination to throw pistachios into absolutely everything. In this dish, I combine them with a little lemon rind and some fragrant vanilla to make these lovely little giveaways for lucky recipients.
This recipe makes 18-20 shortbreads.
Ingredients
- 100 g shelled pistachio nuts
- 50 g ground rice
- 250 g plain flour
- 2 lemons, grated rind only
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 100 g icing sugar, sifted
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 200 g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 drizzle olive oil
- 1 sprinkle caster sugar, for dusting
- 3.5 oz shelled pistachio nuts
- 1.8 oz ground rice
- 8.8 oz plain flour
- 2 lemons, grated rind only
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 3.5 oz icing sugar, sifted
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 7.1 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 1 drizzle olive oil
- 1 sprinkle caster sugar, for dusting
- 3.5 oz shelled pistachio nuts
- 1.8 oz ground rice
- 8.8 oz plain flour
- 2 lemons, grated rind only
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 3.5 oz icing sugar, sifted
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 7.1 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 1 drizzle olive oil
- 1 sprinkle caster sugar, for dusting
Details
- Cuisine: Persian
- Recipe Type: Dessert
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 80 mins
- Cooking Time: 20 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Blitz the pistachio nuts in a food processor roughly until they are broken down, but not too finely, as you want to retain crunch and texture.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the pistachios with the ground rice, flour, lemon rind, vanilla paste, icing sugar and salt, then work the butter into the mixture until a dough forms.
- Mix in just enough olive oil to help you form the dough into a solid ball, then roll the dough into a log about 4–5cm wide. Wrap it tightly in clingfilm, twisting the ends (like a sweet wrapper) to achieve maximum tightness, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/fan130°C/gas mark 2. Line a large baking sheet with nonstick baking paper. Once the oven is hot, remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut it into 1cm thick discs.
- Lay these on to the paper-lined baking sheet, leaving a gap of 2cm between each disc. Sprinkle some caster sugar liberally over the tops of the discs, then bake for 20 minutes,or until the edges begin to turn slightly golden but the biscuits themselves remain virtually the same colour as they were prior to baking. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before eating.
Persiana by Sabrina Ghayour, published by Mitchell Beazley, £25 (www.octopusbooks.co.uk)
Photography by Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton
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