Toasted Pistachio Tarator

Name: Toasted Pistachio Tarator
Cuisine: Turkey
Ingredients: 1 slice of white bread with crusts removed (or 2 slices of baguette or ciabatta); 1 slice of white bread with crusts removed (or 2 slices of baguette or ciabatta); 1 slice of white bread with crusts removed (or 2 slices of baguette or ciabatta); 2 garlic cloves; juice of 1 lemon; 1 teaspoon pul biber, Aleppo chilli, or finely chopped dried chilli; 250 g shelled pistachios, toasted; 1 teaspoon pul biber, Aleppo chilli, or finely chopped dried chilli; 1 teaspoon pul biber, Aleppo chilli, or finely chopped dried chilli; a drizzle of honey; olive oil; a small bunch of parsley or mint (or both), finely chopped; a small bunch of parsley or mint (or both), finely chopped; salt and freshly ground black pepper; salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Spirit & Spice

By Ghillie Basan

Published 2019

About

In Istanbul, the traditional tarator is made with walnuts but it also tastes good with other nuts, such as blanched or toasted almonds and hazelnuts, creamy pine nuts or (my favourite) pistachios. If you’re pairing it with whisky, you could adjust which nuts you use. Serve tarator as a dip, sauce, or condiment.

Ingredients

1 slice of white bread with crusts removed (or 2 slices of baguette or ciabatta)
juic

Asia
Turkey
Sauce
Condiment
Istanbul
Mediterranean
Vegetarian

Method

Tear the bread into pieces, pop them into a bowl, pour the lemon juice over them and leave to soak – if your lemon isn’t very juicy then squeeze another one.

Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic with the nuts until you have a gritty paste. Add the lemon-soaked bread and pound until quite creamy. Stir in the pul biber and gradually beat in the oil until the consistency is thick. S