Orange Pistachio Pie

One of my favorite parts of going to Dallas is stopping by Emporium Pies. It's practically an event unto itself, from waiting outside on the forever-long line to sitting down with a slice of seasonal pie and a cup of French press coffee. On a recent visit, Daniel and I tried out the Basic Beach, which is an orange pistachio cream pie with an earl grey infused whipped cream. So many yummy things that don't quite seem to go together...but it works. I decided to take the flavor profile as inspiration, minus the tea because I'm cutting back on caffeine. (The horror!)

The first attempt was a disaster. Confession: I've never done a blind bake before. The dough turned out pathetic and miserably shriveled, like the saddest little dough disk that still tried to smell awesome. After hours spent shelling, blanching, and peeling pistachios, the butter was more of a chunky, pesto-like substance that had none of the verdant green of the prepackaged variety. Meanwhile, my orange pudding was soupy. Apparently I didn't quite understand the mechanics of it all, and it turned out to be a better beverage than it was a filling. I was sure it was the recipe, but after some internet troubleshooting and a short video by the Barefoot Contessa, I realized it was 100% my bad. Oops. Then Daniel tossed out the egg whites I had been saving for meringue.

Fast forward a week and a half. For the sake of laziness efficiency, I went with an easy cookie crust using some of the Walker's shortbread from my ginormous Costco tin. This counts as decluttering, right? I skipped the blanch and peel portion of pistachio butter making as well. I should say that it's to maintain the nutritional value and some of the saltiness which offsets the sweetness of the pie...but really I lacked the commitment when I didn't trust the final product. In the end, I had to add some avocado oil to get it to a spreadable consistency, even with the mighty power of the Vitamix. The pudding came together this time, minus a few eggy bits that I left out of the final mixture. Daniel had to stop me from overcooking it because I was so afraid it would run again. The meringue is an Italian meringue, which means it's a) stable and b) cooked. Because I would never eat raw cake or cookie batter...hah!

So there you have it. Two weeks after inspiration hit, we finally have some success. I may cut down on the sugar in future iterations, since so much of it is necessary to stabilize the meringue and I'm not crazy enough to mess with science...much.

Have I mentioned how much I love using a blowtorch?

Orange Pistachio Pie Ingredients:
Crust
2 cups	shortbread crumbs
4 T	butter, melted
1/3 cup	sugar
Pistachio Butter
1 cup	shelled pistachios
Orange Pudding
zest and juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup	cornstarch
1/2 tsp	salt
1/3 cup	sugar
4	egg yolks
2.5 cups	milk
Meringue
5	egg whites
1 cup	sugar
1/2 tsp	cream of tartar

Directions:
1.	Separate your 5 eggs while they're still cold. You'll need the yolks and the whites for different parts of the pie.
2.	Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
3.	Mix the crust ingredients together in a bowl until homogeneous. Press into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside.
4.	Spread pistachios in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 6 minutes. Remove pistachios and turn the oven off.
5.	Grind the pistachios using a high-powered food processor. You can also skip steps 4 and 5 and just buy pistachio butter online.
6.	Spread your pistachio butter in an even layer on the bottom of the pie.
7.	Heat milk, orange juice, and orange zest on the stove in a saucepan until the milk is scalded--you'll see steam rising from the top, and there will be bubbles at the edge of the liquid where it meets the saucepan.
8.	Using the creamer attachment on a stand mixer, mix together the egg yolks, cornstarch, salt, and sugar for the pudding on medium. Leave the mixer running and slowly pour in the scalded milk.
9.	Return the pudding mixture to the pot--at this point, you can strain the mixture to take out any eggy bits. Cook the pudding, stirring constantly, until it is thickened (about 5 minutes or so).
10.	Pour the pudding into the pie shell. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent formation of a skin. Let the pie chill in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
11.	Set a clean stand mixer bowl on top of a pot of simmering water (double boiler). Stir together egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar for the meringue and heat until it reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
12.	Remove the bowl from heat, set in the stand mixer, and whip on high until stiff, glossy peaks form.
13.	Spread the meringue on top of the pie and shape as desired. Torch the top using a blowtorch.

Serve immediately.