Pistachio Paste (Sweet Pistachio Butter)

Blanching the pistachios

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
2. Carefully add the pistachios into the boiling water and stir for 1 - 2 minutes in the boiling water to blanch the nuts.
3. Immediately strain the water and place the pistachios in cold or ice water to cool down.
4. When the pistachios have cooled down, proceed to remove the outer skin of the nuts.
5. To remove the skin, place the pistachios on a clean kitchen towel / dish cloth and rub the pistachios with the towel. If there are any nuts remaining with the skin on at the end, then remove their skin manually. The skin should pop right off when you squeeze the pistachios between your fingers.
6. Then place the pistachios on a paper towel until you’re ready for the next step. You do not need to dry the pistachios in the oven.

Making the sugared pistachios

1. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan. Dissolve the sugar in the water over medium heat, but be careful not to stir the mixture. Instead, gently swirl the pan to dissolve the sugar in the water.
2. Once the sugar is dissolved, keep cooking the sugar syrup until it reaches 245°F / 118°C (on a candy thermometer).
3. When the sugar has reached this temperature, remove it from the heat.
4. Place the pistachio nuts in a large bowl, and pour the sugar syrup over the nuts. Mix well using a spatula to coat the pistachios in the sugar syrup.
5. Keep mixing until the sugar syrup cools down, and crystallizes around the nuts. When the sugar has crystallized, you're ready for the next step.

Making pistachio paste

1. Place the sugared pistachios in the food processor. Do use a good food processor, since you may need to run it for about 10 minutes to make the paste (or even longer).
2. Add the salt to the pistachios.
3. Now start processing the nuts. The pistachios will first get chopped, and then turn into a chunky paste, and as you keep processing, they will turn into a thick and very smooth paste.
4. Add the oil, a few tablespoons at a time, until you get the paste consistency you prefer. If you want a thick pistachio paste, then only add ¼ cup of oil. For a thinner consistency, add more.
5. Once the pistachio paste is made, transfer it to jars with air-tight lids. The pistachios paste will thicken as it cools down.
6. Keep the paste in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or longer in the freezer.