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This savory mixture lands somewhere between dip and spread but it's dead on delicious. Like a holiday cheeseball...minus the cheese.

Adapted from Bar Tartine: Techniques & Recipes by Cortney Burns and Nicolaus Balla. Published by Chronicle Books 2014.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

½

cup plus 1 tsp. vegetable oil, plus more for drizzling

16

garlic cloves, peeled

cups pistachios

½

cup pumpkin seeds

1

poblano chile

3

scallions, white and light green parts, cut into 1” pieces, plus 2 thinly sliced for serving

Kosher salt

1

bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped, plus leaves and tender stems for serving

3

tablespoons lime juice, plus half a lime for squeezing over

1

radish, thinly sliced, (optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine 1/2 cup oil and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until garlic is tender, 12–15 minutes. Let garlic cool in oil.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Spread pistachios and pumpkin seeds on a rimmed baking sheet and cook until lightly toasted, 6–8 minutes. Measure out ½ cup nut mixture and roughly chop; season with remaining 1 tsp. oil and 1 tsp. salt.

    Step 3

    Heat broiler. Broil poblano on a foil-lined baking sheet, turning occasionally, until blackened, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let steam 15 minutes. Peel, seed, and roughly chop.

    Step 4

    Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water flicked on the surface sizzles on contact. Add scallions to skillet and press down using the back of a spatula until charred, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook and press until scallions are mostly charred all over, about 4 more minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

    Step 5

    Combine garlic and oil, poblano, charred scallions, cilantro, lime juice, remaining pistachio-pumpkin seed mixture, and 2 tsp. salt in a blender and process until smooth, scraping down sides of machine as needed (you may need to add a tablespoon or two of water to keep things moving).

    Step 6

    Transfer dip to a plate and top with chopped pistachio-pumpkin seed mixture, cilantro leaves, and radishes, if using. Squeeze lime juice over and scatter with scallions. Serve with sturdy crackers.

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  • Delicious! Yes, there are a lot of separate steps making this a bit time consuming but none of the steps is hard at all. It's so worth it! It's worth having all the separate layers of flavour. This recipe makes quite a large amount of dip, so I make it for parties as an appetiser with sturdy crackers and half-slices of nice sourdough bread. It's a substantial choice that's all ready to go before guests arrive - if they're really peckish before I'm done cooking the main, they can take the edge off. I get tons of compliments every time I make it...and it's vegan!

    • Anonymous

    • Perth

    • 6/21/2022