PISTACHIO, ORANGE ZEST, + DATE NANKATAI
My Aunt Dina always has a batch of these tucked away in a stainless-steel tin in the kitchen. There’s a considerable amount of tense anticipation around the table at teatime until she opens it and hands them out, and then it feels as though the world is put to rights again. Their texture is similar to shortbread, but it’s more like taking a bite out of a sweet little sugar-spun pistachio cloud. They’re light, airy, and perfectly complement a cup of tea. Makes 25 ½ cup shelled pistachios 1 cup cold unsalted butter 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 / 3 cup rice flour ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar a small pinch of salt zest of 1 orange ¼ cup chopped dates 2 / 3 teaspoon ground cardamom (or finely ground seeds from 10 pods) Blitz the pistachios in a food processor to a coarse texture, or grind with a mortar and pestle. Dice the cold butter and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the flours, all but 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the salt, orange zest, dates, and cardamom. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the blitzed pista…
