To the pistachio donut I could not resist 💚

A round of classic pistachio-themed Five Things I Ate.

Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, it’s all about pistachio, the most elite nut. Read past posts here, and please follow my Instagram, @fivethingsiate.  

Pistachio brioche donut at Siena Bakehouse

94 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10006

Is there anything more beautiful than a perfect donut? (Yes, but not in the scope of this newsletter). When I talk about my Platonic Ideal for a donut, it’s not the Homer Simpson kind, oversized and heavy with colorful glaze. My perfect donut, aside from a fresh cider donut in fall, is the Italian bomboloni. Humble in appearance, round and the size of my palm, and dusted with sugar, I just love how approachable it looks. When I want a donut, I don’t want to be overwhelmed. I want to be comforted. Preferably with fluffy yeasted fried dough, a hint of savory along with sweet, and best of all, filled with pistachio cream. 

Paolo’s Pistachio Cream Spread at local grocery store

But I’m sure you can Google this and find it online.

Speaking of pistachio cream, if you want to cut out the donut middleman and go straight to the source, get yourself a jar. Not to rile up the Nutella fans, but IMO this is the superior nut spread, making every piece of toast feel like a fancy brunch (see below). Now, when I say nut spread, this is certainly no peanut butter (which is not a nut in the first place). It’s more like an elegant treat, like a soft nutty ganache.

Pistachio cream toast with strawberries at home

Just a lil treat.

If you want to hit your Little Treat quota in the morning, why not start the day with pistachio cream toast and strawberries? This is like nutella toast with strawberries, which is at least a little more nutritious than what I ate for lunch as a child, straight up Nutella sandwiches. Also like I boldly stated above I think pistachio spread is superior and goes better with berries coz it doesn’t overpower the taste. It’s important to use a good slice of sourdough or other crusty white bread, and toast it to just crisp on the outside. Sometimes I first spread with a tab of good salted butter, because I believe life should be enjoyable. Spread with pistachio cream (above) and sliced strawberries, artfully arranged. Here is a reference photo. 

Pistachio matcha iced latte with oat milk at home

Save the 10 bucks this latte will surely cost you if you step foot outside of your home.

Where would I be without my little afternoon iced matcha oat milk latte!! Well probably I’d be in bed. Matcha and pistachio is a stellar combo, and I swear I didn’t pair them up just because they are both green. Matcha might come off kinda grassy and bitter (it shouldn’t be very bitter if you use a good quality. Please please get good quality matcha! I’ve written about my favorite brands Ippodo and Hibiki-An a lot.) but it’s actually nutty, rich, and a little savory, especially if it’s good quality. That makes it perfect with pistachio, which is also nutty and rich (also, both are a little bougie, but worth spending on!). To make it, ad a few splashes of hot but not boiling water with a packet of Hibiki-An matcha (above), or 2 grams of matcha, in a matcha bowl and whisk until frothy. If you don’t have a matcha bowl, you can use an electric whisk. Meanwhile, fill a tall glass with ice. Add matcha, 1 tablespoon pistachio syrup, and fill to the top with oat milk (here’s my fave brand recently). Enjoy :)

KAFFEREP at IKEA (the green almond paste kind)

This one.

OK, I feel like this one is a scam because it’s NOT pistachio flavored, but then why did they make it green?? Actually, it seems like the Swedes are rather fond of dying almond-flavored things green (see Princess Cake, which now I kinda want for my birthday??). Regardless, I love me some KAFFEREP from IKEA. I was eating a slice of not–too-sweet Chinese sponge roll this afternoon but it wasn’t waking me up enough, so I ate a KAFFEREP instead. Chinese sponge roll goes well with green tea and matcha just like pineapple cake, but this is definitely sweeter and richer and to be cut with espresso or Swedish coffee.

Have a good weekend,

Soph

P.S. I’m in the middle of a move, which, as a person who is cursed with both the stubbornly DIY gene and also absolute Zero Homemaking skills or spatial reasoning skills is about as consuming as you might think, so newsletter frequency may vary. But as always, please forward to a friend and feel free to send me food recs <3 you can do so by replying to this email.