Saturday, May 20, 2017

Pistachio Vinaigrette


Last month, Lennie, a good friend of Jim's and mine, took me to dinner at one of my favorite places. It was something I was kind of dreading because this had always been Jim and my place. It was where we went to celebrate almost every birthday I had while we were married. (If you read this blog regularly, you know that Lennie is a widower, and our good baseball buddy who would come over a couple of times a week for dinner and to watch the game). As it turned out, despite my trepidation, it was a lovely evening; we had a delicious meal, and enjoyed each other's company. I'm glad that he took me, it was a very sweet thing to do, and now that I've broken the ice, it'll be easier to go back to my favorite place. My point in telling you all of this is that we ordered a salad as a first course, and it came dressed with pistachio vinaigrette. It was sensational! Ever since that evening I have been searching for a recipe for pistachio vinaigrette that is as good as the one we had that night.
I found a variety of them and, after a bit of experimentation, came up with what I think is the apex of pistachio vinaigrette dressings. It is wonderful on a salad of nothing more than spring lettuce. If you want to get fancy, add some very thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms, paper-thin slices of red onion, and be sure to top off your salad, no matter what you do, with chopped pistachios. This is easy enough for every day, but fancy enough for company. If you can't get pistachio oil locally (an absolute must for this dressing), you can get it here. I highly recommend the purchase; it makes a world of difference. 
Pistachio Vinaigrette

4 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons
pistachio oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons crushed pistachios
2 tablespoons minced chives
Salt and Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Blend together the first four ingredients. (I used a bullet blender because nothing emulsifies a salad dressing like a bullet blender.) Stir in the pistachios, chives, and salt and pepper to taste. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, well, you get the picture. It's delicious, so trust me you're going to want to make as much as possible.


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11 comments:

Marigene said...

Oh my, that salad has me salivating! I feel like I could just reach in there with a fork for a bite.

Mary@mydogsmygardenandmary said...

I am always looking for a new dressing for salad, as I eat a lot of them in hot weather.

So I will try and make it - it looks wonderful.

So glad that you had a nice enjoyable evening - have a great week.

Mary

Rustown Mom said...

Oh, I am intrigued! I printed off that recipe right away. I make a dinner salad as a main course for us once a week. Will try this very soon - maybe adding grilled chicken. YUM.

Linda said...

Gosh Pattie it's been so long since I've had a pistachio I can't even remember what it tastes like. I have to admit you have me interested - it looks fantastic. Glad you had a good birthday dinner. That first time is the hardest for sure.

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Sounds so yummy! pinned and shared

Eclectic Red Barn said...

Wow, this dressing looks amazing. I love salads and any vinaigrette dressings. Pinning this.
Bev

Julie's Creative Lifestyle said...

This salad dressing looks so good. Thanks for sharing it at C&C with J&J.

Kerryanne @ Shabby Art Boutique said...

So glad you enjoyed your evening out :)
Looking forward to trying this recipe Pattie. Thank you for sharing this at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather this week.

The Lazy Gastronome said...

Looks like a great summer salad! Thanks for sharing on the What's for Dinner link up!

Miz Helen said...

I will be trying your awesome Pistachio Vinaigrette. Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday! Hope you are having a great week and come back to see us real soon.
Miz Helen

Marla said...

Congratulations on being featured on Homestead blog hop. This sounds like a flavorful homemade dressing that would add zest to any salad. Thanks for sharing. Tweeted & pinned!