Chile Lime Pistachios

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My poor dog-earred food magazines. All those little folded over corners which continue to suffer from neglect. This month, I must have marked at least 40 some recipes. Including one in the May 2008 Gourmet for Chile Peanuts. I don’t even like peanuts. But, I fell in lust with the photo, and I love the combination of chile and lime. Enter the bag of pistachios that have been sitting on the counter, getting slowly nibbled away.

Do you like pistachios as much as I do? The addictive process of popping them out of their shells. I’ll just shell 10 more, I think, only to find myself a few minutes later repeating the same thing, just 10 more. I give the thin brownish purple skins a little pinch to expose the green nut meat. It’s good that I enjoy the shelling process because I seem to eat almost as many as I’m going to need. For this recipe, I ended up with a healthy cup full… but who knows how many ended up in my belly along the way.

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I think that this chile lime mixture would work well with almost any nuts… but I love the bright green color with the red spices from the paprika and chile. And the lime tang really wakes up the sweetness in the pistachios. These are the perfect little addictive snack to munch on if you are enjoying a little Cinco de Mayo cocktail as well.

Chile Lime Pistachios

If your pistachios are already salted, cut back on the amount of salt you use in this recipe or leave it out entirely and salt to taste after the nuts are roasted.

1/2 fresh lime
1/2 T olive oil
1 t paprika (not hot)
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 t salt
1 cup shelled pistachios

Preheat oven to 250°F.

Whisk together lime juice, oil, paprika, salt, and cayenne. Stir in pistachios to coat evenly.

Line a baking sheet with parchment. Spread the nuts over the parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack for about 30 minutes or until the spice mixture has dried on the nuts.

Your kitchen should smell pretty heavenly as these are roasting. The nuts will get more crispy as they cool, but good luck keeping fingers out of them.

18 thoughts on “Chile Lime Pistachios

  1. I love all nuts and seeds but pistachios hold a special place in my heart and in the food-addict part of my brain. If I start eating one, I cannot stop until I have finished the entire bag. I like the process or getting them out of the shell and popping them in my mouth. I have never flavored them but this sounds a delicious and refreshing way of doing it. And your photos are stunning as always. So clean and crisp!

  2. Gorgeous, as per usual! The fresh green shades of pistachios do seem rather perfect for spring, no? I will admit, I too have never thought to improve on the charms of the pistachio, but this recipe looks to be a must-try. They are a fave around our household and I am sure the variation will be welcome … and addictive.

  3. i love nuts too much as is, and i shudder to think how many nuts i will consume when i break down and make this. i might even surpass the great spiced pecan episode of aught-seven.

  4. This sounds just delicious. I love pistachios and my Costco just started carrying shelled ones in big bags, which may turn out to be my downfall!

  5. Nuts are among my favorite things to eat–such efficient little bundles of food. Great pictures!

  6. These look terrific – I always love the sound of flavored nuts (time for my kids to laugh) but am not a fan of peanuts. These are right up my alley!

  7. Wow!! These look awesome, what a wonderful idea. I cannot wait to try them. I think they will be spectacular to welcome guests, with a glass of something cold & full of alcohol!
    BTW, this is my first time visiting your site, and it’s fab. Thank-you for the inspiration!

  8. I stumbled across here looking for a recipe for chili-lime pistachios. I tried the ones from Trader Joe’s, but all the seasoning is on the shell, and I figured I could buy plain ones and make them myself. I used this recipe (though I quadrupled it because I had a pound of nuts), and it was SO good. The only change I made was adding a squirt of Sriracha hot sauce. Just wanted to say thanks!

  9. The ones ive had from mexico, were all made with red pepper flakes, yummmmmy. In the shell sucking the spicy sour mix off the. Is so good

  10. Hi Patticake – you could, but then you’d lose a lot of the flavor when you shelled the nuts. I’d recommend sticking with shelled ones.

    Lara

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