Pistachios

FRESNO, Calif. - Federal food safety officials warned yesterday that consumers should stop eating all foods containing pistachios while they figure out the source of a possible salmonella contamination. Still reeling from the national salmonella outbreak in peanuts, the Food and Drug Administration said central California-based Setton Farms, the nation's second-largest pistachio processor, was voluntarily recalling all of its 2008 crop - more than 1 million pounds of nuts. "Our advice to consumers is that they avoid eating pistachio products, and that they hold onto those products," said Dr. David...

Serves 8 The idea behind a verrine is to arrange different layers of food inside a small glass. In this summery recipe, start with a layer of store-bought ladyfingers cut into small pieces. Add a layer of fresh strawberries lightly tossed in sugar with chopped green pistachios - for color and texture. Pour in vanilla-flavored custard and finish with a layer of strawberries and pistachios. The result is pretty and rewarding. 1 pound strawberries, hulled and cut into ½-inch pieces 3 tablespoons unsalted shelled green pistachios, finely chopped 1 tablespoon +...

The high paper baking cups you see in stylish bakery cases - and now widely available in cookware shops (at Sur la Table in The Mall at Chestnut Hill, 617-244-0213, they're 25 to 50 cents each) - will make the simplest confections look quite professional. These rigid individual molds are brown with a gold floret design and available in round, rectangular, star, tall, shallow, and large shapes. They're microwave safe and heatproof up to 450 degrees. These little cakes are flavored with bittersweet chocolate, pecans, and pistachios.

In this Elizabeth David classic, from her recently reissued book, “French Provincial Cooking,’’ ground pistachios take the place of ground almonds in the original recipe. Dust the pan with cocoa, which leaves a cake free of white flour specks. Watch the cooking time carefully; the cake will continue to firm as it cools. Butter (for the pan) Unsweetened cocoa powder (for dusting) 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon cool liquid coffee 1 tablespoon...

In this Elizabeth David classic, from her recently reissued book, “French Provincial Cooking,’’ ground pistachios take the place of ground almonds in the original recipe. Dust the pan with cocoa, which leaves a cake free of white flour specks. Watch the cooking time carefully; the cake will continue to firm as it cools. Butter (for the pan) Unsweetened cocoa powder (for dusting) 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon cool liquid coffee 1 tablespoon...

Serves 4 With several swipes of a vegetable peeler, a hefty zucchini is transformed into a dainty salad that looks and tastes far more three-star restaurant than it costs. Lemon juice tenderizes the uncooked zucchini slices, allowing them to fold like al dente pappardelle. Roasted green pistachios add a contrasting texture and nutty flavor to balance the slick, sweet, and acidic ribbons. The dish is garnished with shaves of Parmesan. You need a Swiss vegetable peeler - the ones with plastic handles and carbon steel blades that form a "Y" shape and cost less than $4 (www.kuhnrikon.com)

TERRA BELLA, Calif. - The salmonella scare that prompted a blanket federal warning against eating pistachios may have erupted because contaminated raw nuts got mixed with roasted nuts during processing, the company at the center of the nationwide recall said yesterday. Lee Cohen, the production manager for Setton International Foods Inc., said the company does not believe pistachios were contaminated by a human or animal source in its plant. He said the company suspects that roasted pistachios sold to Kraft Foods Inc. may have become mixed at Setton's plant with raw nuts that...

Serves 8 The idea behind a verrine is to arrange different layers of food inside a small glass. In this summery recipe, start with a layer of store-bought ladyfingers cut into small pieces. Add a layer of fresh strawberries lightly tossed in sugar with chopped green pistachios - for color and texture. Pour in vanilla-flavored custard and finish with a layer of strawberries and pistachios. The result is pretty and rewarding. 1 pound strawberries, hulled and cut into ½-inch pieces 3 tablespoons unsalted shelled green pistachios, finely chopped 1 ...

Serves 6 1/2 cup shelled, roasted, salted pistachios 1 log (11 ounces) goat cheese Black pepper, to taste 1. In a food processor, pulse pistachios until they are finely chopped. 2. Season goat cheese on all sides with pepper. Transfer pistachios to a plate. Roll cheese log in the pistachios. Cover all sides, pressing gently so the nuts stick.

Serves 4 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 3 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup pistachios, shelled and crushed 4 boneless trout fillets (6 ounces each) Salt and pepper, to taste 2 lemons, thinly sliced 1. Turn on the broiler. Have on hand a rimmed baking sheet. 2. In a wide shallow bowl, combine the butter and olive oil. In another wide bowl, place the crushed pistachios.

Serves 6 1/2 cup shelled, roasted, salted pistachios 1 log (11 ounces) goat cheese Black pepper, to taste 1. In a food processor, pulse pistachios until they are finely chopped. 2. Season goat cheese on all sides with pepper. Transfer pistachios to a plate. Roll cheese log in the pistachios. Cover all sides, pressing gently so the nuts stick.

The Irish thugs in “Perrier’s Bounty’’ are movie thugs. In one of the first scenes, Michael (Cillian Murphy) awakes to the sight of two men seated before him. They threaten him in a well-timed back and forth, hurling the occasional pistachio at his head. We don’t see them enter his grubby bedroom. We see them sit in perfect arrangement, with their banter and peculiar interest in nuts. They’ve been styled. As an introduction, it’s airless and tired. Is Michael that sound a sleeper?

Serves 6 Cookbook author Alice Medrich writes that she created this panna cotta, served individually, because of an Indian rice dish she likes. She sprinkles chopped pistachios and grated cinnamon stick on top. 3 1/4 cups heavy cream 1/3 cup sugar Pinch of salt 5 cardamom pods Generous 1/8 teaspoon crushed saffron threads 2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin 1 cup...

ISTANBUL - An impulsive decision to leap on a departing ferry led us to the Kadikoy neighborhood in Istanbul, on the Asian side of town. Aimless meandering and sheer luck led us to Cafer Erol. Oh, happy day. The storefront bakery and confectionery in this bustling commercial walking district was stacked with metal trays holding an eye-popping array of sweets. The fact that we couldn’t identify any of them, or read Turkish, didn’t deter us from entering. Inside, the sights and smells made us feel like, well, kids in a candy shop.

VERGENNES, Vt. - Didier Murat calls Vermont home now, but the 41-year-old confectioner grew up in the Rhone-Alpes region of France and the nougat of his childhood was handmade using egg whites, pistachios, almonds, and honey. The flat rectangular candy is white and pleasantly chewy, studded with the green and brown colors of the nuts. Murat was a self-employed woodworker making nougat for himself and his friends. He called his candy Vadeboncoeur (French for “go with a good heart’’)

TERRA BELLA, Calif. - The reason it didn't take dozens of illnesses for federal regulators to learn about salmonella-tainted pistachios has nothing to do with federal regulations. Routine but unrequired testing by a manufacturer for Kraft Foods Inc. first detected the contamination almost two weeks ago, when workers at a plant in Illinois decided to check roasted nuts going into huge vats of trail mix. Private auditors hired by Kraft later found problems they think caused the contamination at a supplier's processing facility in central California.

Serves 8 1/2 gallon whole milk 3 dried dates, chopped 2 crushed green cardamom seeds 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup broken vermicelli 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads 1/3 cup slivered almonds ...

Serves 6 Cookbook author Alice Medrich writes that she created this panna cotta, served individually, because of an Indian rice dish she likes. She sprinkles chopped pistachios and grated cinnamon stick on top. 3 1/4 cups heavy cream 1/3 cup sugar Pinch of salt 5 cardamom pods Generous 1/8 teaspoon crushed saffron threads 2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin 1 cup whole milk ...

TERRA BELLA, Calif. - The salmonella scare that prompted a blanket federal warning against eating pistachios may have erupted because contaminated raw nuts got mixed with roasted nuts during processing, the company at the center of the nationwide recall said yesterday. Lee Cohen, the production manager for Setton International Foods Inc., said the company does not believe pistachios were contaminated by a human or animal source in its plant. He said the company suspects that roasted pistachios sold to Kraft Foods Inc. may have become mixed at Setton's plant with raw nuts that...

FRESNO, Calif. - Federal food safety officials warned yesterday that consumers should stop eating all foods containing pistachios while they figure out the source of a possible salmonella contamination. Still reeling from the national salmonella outbreak in peanuts, the Food and Drug Administration said central California-based Setton Farms, the nation's second-largest pistachio processor, was voluntarily recalling all of its 2008 crop - more than 1 million pounds of nuts. "Our advice to consumers is that they avoid eating pistachio products, and that they hold onto those products,"...