Pistachio Pie Recipe

Make dough

In a bowl or food processor combine flour, Valrhona cocoa powder, granulated sugar and sea salt. Whisk or pulse to combine. Add cold cubed butter and cut/pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces.

Bind dough

Beat the egg yolk with the ice water and drizzle over crumbs, pulsing or mixing until dough begins to clump. Add up to 1 additional tablespoon ice water only if needed. Gather dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes.

Blind bake

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Roll chilled dough on lightly floured surface to fit a 9-inch (23 cm) tart pan with removable bottom. Press into pan, trim edges. Line crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 18 minutes, remove weights and parchment, then bake 6–8 more minutes until set. Cool completely on a rack.

Toast pistachios

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spread shelled pistachios on a baking sheet and toast 6–8 minutes until fragrant. Cool slightly.

Make pistachio butter

Place toasted pistachios in a food processor and process until a smooth butter forms, about 6–8 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add confectioners' sugar, neutral oil and salt and process 1–2 more minutes to incorporate. Adjust texture with another teaspoon of oil if necessary. Set aside 3/4 cup of the pistachio butter to pipe later; reserve remaining to create base layer in crust.

Fill crust

Spread the reserved pistachio butter evenly into the cooled cocoa crust to form a 1/4–1/3 inch thick layer. Smooth with an offset spatula. Chill 10 minutes to set.

Prepare tahini layer

Whisk hulled tahini with powdered sugar, milk (or cream) and vanilla until smooth and spreadable. Taste and adjust sweetness. If too loose, add a little more powdered sugar; if too stiff, add a little more milk. Spread a thin even layer (about 3–4 mm) over the chilled pistachio butter layer. Return tart to refrigerator while preparing kataifi.

Toast kataifi

Tear or fluff kataifi into small nests and toss with melted butter, honey and the chopped pistachios. Spread on a small baking sheet and bake at 325°F (160°C) for 6–9 minutes, stirring once, until golden and crisp. Watch carefully as it browns quickly. Cool completely — it will crisp more as it cools.

Add crunch layer

Once cooled, sprinkle and gently press the kataifi mixture over the tahini layer to create a crunchy barrier for the ganache. Lightly chill 5–10 minutes to set.

Make ganache

Place chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat heavy cream until it just begins to simmer (do not boil). Pour hot cream over chocolate and let sit 1 minute, then whisk until smooth and glossy. Whisk in the optional softened butter for extra shine. Cool slightly until ganache thickens but remains pourable (about 5–8 minutes).

Top tart

Pour ganache over the kataifi layer, using an offset spatula to smooth and bring ganache close to the edge without overflowing. Gently tap the tart on the counter to remove air bubbles. Chill the tart 20–30 minutes to set the ganache.

Temper and cook

In a small saucepan heat cream, milk and the split vanilla bean (or vanilla extract) just to a simmer. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the honey until pale and thick. Remove vanilla bean (scrape seeds into milk if using). Temper the yolks by slowly adding about 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture into the yolks while whisking. Then pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk/cream and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard coats the back of the spoon (about 170–175°F / 77–80°C) — do not boil.

Finish anglaise

Remove from heat, strain into a clean bowl to remove any cooked bits and stir in salt. Chill the anglaise briefly to lukewarm or room temperature. Refrigerate if making ahead; bring to cool-room temperature before serving with warm tart slices if desired.

Serve

When tart ganache is set, slice tart into 8 pieces. Plate each slice with 2–3 tablespoons of honey anglaise spooned alongside or lightly drizzled over the slice. Garnish with a sprinkle of coarse chopped pistachios, a few strands or small nest of extra kataifi, and a pinch of flaky sea salt on each slice.