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#FlanFridays: Pistachio Flan for Nut Lovers

 

Making flan is not necessarily a tricky adventure.

The key ingredient in making a perfect flan, which is a result of consistency, texture and caramel taste, is time.

Timing is of the essence when making flan, either in the traditional baño Maria or in the pressure cooker (my preferred method).

While I like to brag that I’m the Flan Queen, there were times in my early pro cooking career, where I messed up, all by  a margin of 2-4 minutes. Those additional minutes made my egg custard too stiff and not jiggly enough. That doesn’t help first time eaters. People not accustomed to eating it, already have a hard time with its texture, so I challenge myself every time to convert the non-lover into aficionados.

If a traditional flavored flan isn’t enough, my pantry doors open and I start scouring for additional ingredients I can add to kick it up a notch or two!

My last successful experiment included pistachios I received from Wonderful Pistachio (owned by POMWonderful). They have a full orchard of pistachio trees (which I was lucky enough to see in person last year) near Fresno, California. Fortunately, you don’t have to go nut picking to snatch some up. I’ve seen them at the grocery store, Costco and even Bed, Bath & Beyond.

I’ve always loved the green nut, especially in ice cream. So, it wasn’t a stretch for me to think and know that adding some green crunch would make this one a winner.

After a day of window shopping with my sister, whom had just arrived from D.C. for 4th of July festivities, I had no time to change before the photographer arrived; I went straight to the cocina to entice the onlookers!

While pulling out all the ingredients, I decided a splash of almond extract wouldn’t hurt, either, yielding an amazing an aromatic flan. So flavorful, I promise it will intrigue you to learn how to properly start and finish the timing challenge! Note, however, there are other variables that determine how long you cook your flan.

But, I’ll purposely reserve that for another flavored flan post.

Thanks to my cute friend Chieu, who came by to take action shots for you to see the process. I think to date, I’ve only shared the final product.

It turned into an impromptu lesson for her, and this is how it went.

A BEAUTIFUL flan, robust in caramel flavor, perfect in texture, with the added light crunch, aesthetically appealing in color and intoxicating aromas of the toasted pistachio and almond!

Ask Chieu! She enjoyed two flans, one week apart.

Are you a FLAN lover?

 

 

Eat well, love unapologetically, pray with true intention, and take care of yourself.

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73 thoughts on “#FlanFridays: Pistachio Flan for Nut Lovers

  1. I don’t know…the tequila one might be pretty hard to beat! But, if a flan would move into the lead, pistachios would definitely be the right nut to do it. 😉 Love your diva self in the kitchen. Work it out! 😉

  2. I love the way you dress while cooking. Very chic! A diva in the kitchen :). Lovely flans. So yummy!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  3. I recently made a hazelnut flan and loved it. I’m a huge nut lover so will definitely be expanding my flan horizons with pistachio. ps awesome hat and outfit – looking great will cooking, love it!

  4. Chris: this one just has a great nutty flavor and crunch to it, without taking away the flan flavor and texture.

    Rosa: haha. I don’t usually cook like that for a blog post, but i was just arriving from having been out shopping and didn’t have time to change.

    Margot: Ahhh, you’re so sweet, Margot! When you come to the states, you’ll have to come visit me and I’ll treat to all the flans you want!

    Peter: Ha! You totally get it! No spills here, baby!

    Dullah: Thanks!

    Gastroanthropologie: Ohh hazelnut sounds good! Did you use fresh hazelnut or a liquor? I’ve done one with a liquor and it was darn tasty. And yes, definitely try a pistachio one, I think you’ll really like it. Too good for words
    Thanks for stopping by!

  5. I just shared this on google reader and my boyfriend immediately wrote back “eff yes” so I think that means I’ll be making this for him 😉

  6. I’ve never been a big pistachio person but they look great paired with the Flan!

  7. Erin: I’m so thrilled! I hope you make it for him. He’ll definitely love it. I’m tempted to make another one this week… I barely got to eat any of this one.

    POA: the nuts that are inside go in the egg/milk mixture. you can opt out of that, but then the texture won’t be there. or flavor… 🙂

    Canika: oh yeah, it sure it is!

  8. I haven’t tried anything flan related with pistachios, but this looks pretty good. I like the ice cream that has pistachios in it, so I’m sure this will be amazing!
    -Jenny
    Kitchen Scales

  9. ese flan se ve muy pero muy rico el pistacho me encanta su sabor y en flan debe saber muy rico buena idea felicidades bren

  10. What a great idea. Is anyone else coming up with flavors like this? Love your style!!!

  11. Jaques: oh boy, you have no idea what you’ve been missing. I love pistachio helado, the fresh nut, and now flan! If you’re adventurous to make it, come back and let me know.

    Jenny: Hi Jenny! I hope you try it, especially since you like pistachios… a very different take on flan, but extremely delicious!

    Carmen: esta delicioso, Carmen…los pistachios le dan un sabor y textura muy rico. espero que le trates de hacer.

    Jay Harlem: HA! Doubt it, but who knows. Thanks for coming by!

  12. Courtney: I did strain it, but not as much as it looks. I strain it primarily to get the excess egg white out. I do use a splash of pistachio extract, but the pistachios are toasted/roasted to get a more robust flavor! It’s sooo good! Thanks for asking!

  13. I’m Flan Fanatic!!!! My sister turned me on to your website. “Girl!-where have you been all my life?” This only makes me want to go home a make a flan. I just started selling my award winning flan in the Local Farmers Market in Sarasota, Fl. (“Thinking this small town could use a little latin spice.”) It was only a seasonal market from Oct-May & It was a hit. I plan on doing it again when seasons starts.(2011-2012)

    Not much of a writer but I sure do like to talk alot. I mean it. LOL!
    I will definatly keep in touch with you. Here in Florida down by the water. “Let them Eat flan”

    Marlene Cooley
    Best tasting Flan Ybor City 2011
    Mauh…

  14. Great looking flan. My mom and I love pistachios so I can only imagine how delicious it must taste with the caramel. Next time you make some, let me know, k? Thanks Bren.

  15. 769393 588758Wow! Thank you! I always wanted to write on my website something like that. Can I incorporate a portion of your post to my website? 22882

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