GroundLevelCoffee

For some reason one of the better accompaniments to coffee is biscotti. I’ve tried only a couple of recipes for biscotti in the past couple of years, but this was the better one. It uses pistachios rather than almonds.

Pistachio biscotti

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
20 minutes standing time
Makes 1 loaf

50 grams butter, softened
½ cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups plain flour
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon baking powder
100 grams shelled unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Place butter and sugar in the small bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

2. Sift flour, allspice and baking powder and add to the mixture. Fold in pistachios using a metal spoon. Shape dough into a 30cm-long log on a lightly floured surface. Place the log on the prepared baking tray and bake for half an hour or until it is golden brown and firm.

3. Let stand for 20 minutes until cool. Using a serrated knife slice the loaf on the diagonal into 1cm-thick slices. Place slices onto a prepared baking tray and bake for further 10-15 minutes until slices are crisp. Cool for 5 minutes then place on a wire rack to continue cooling.

(This recipe came from the December 2003 issue of Better Homes & Gardens, but I couldn’t find it on their website.)

I’ve had a few other things on my plate for the past few months and haven’t had much ‘head space’ for coffee-related posts…

But there are some new coffees starting to flow into my stocks from OzGreens and The Green Guys and so more will be forthcoming from me soon.

The beans I’m particularly looking forward to are all Arabian/North African namely an Ethiopian Harar and two Yemen beans - the Mattari and Ismaili. All are renowned for their fruitiness. They’re all dry-processed and so can roast unevenly, but all should be distinct as a plunge (or blended with something with a base or mid flavour like a Sumatran or Kenyan). I’ve also got some Balinese beans on the way and so may try a blend of Yemen and Balinese. Previously I’ve blended Yemen’s in a ratio of around 15-30% for machine use (cappa or latte style), but with a reasonable quantity on the way, I can try a few different ideas over the next few months.