Olivier Poels 5:40 p.m., November 4, 2021
Originally a wild tree, the pistachio tree has been cultivated for 4000 years in Mesopotamia before arriving in Greece, thanks to Alexander Conqueror, then in Italy around the 1st century AD. It is mentioned in the Old Testament and legend has it that the Queen of Sheba demanded that all pistachios come back to her and that the people could not cultivate them for their own use. The Middle East, however, has remained the prime land for growing pistachios, which is proving to be very interesting from a commercial point of view.
Today Iran, Turkey and the United States are the main pistachio producing countries.
Pistachio trees are planted in orchards.
It takes about 7 years for a tree to start producing.
It is found fresh, grilled, shelled, whole or in powder for many uses: in pastry, for the famous ice cream, in cold meats, in pesto ...
Sicily remains a land very attached to pistachio with delicious recipes, such as pistachio pesto, which can be found in the Catania region.
The pistachio pesto recipe:
Ingredients:
- 100 gr of shelled pistachios
- 10 cl of olive oil
- 25 gr of Parmesan
- About twenty basil leaves
1. Mix everything coarsely (add oil if it is not liquid enough)
2. To use on pasta or as a condiment