Pistachio nougat
MAKES 36 PREP 20 mins plus overnight setting COOK 35 mins MORE EFFORT V
300g green shelled pistachios
2 tsp flavourless oil, such as sunflower
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp icing sugar
2 x 20cm square sheets edible rice paper
300g caster sugar
60g honey
275g liquid glucose
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
3 eggs, whites only (save the yolks for another recipe)
1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Scatter the nuts over a baking tray and put in the oven for 10 mins, then tip out onto a plate and set aside. Brush the sides of the tray with oil, then mix the cornflour and icing sugar. Dust the tin with the cornflour mixture and line the base with one sheet of rice paper.
2 Put the sugar, honey, glucose, vanilla seeds, a pinch of salt and 200ml of water in a saucepan. Heat the mixture gently over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Meanwhile, put the egg whites in a clean bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk until they reach soft peaks. Turn up the heat for the sugar mixture to medium-high until the temperature reaches about 145C on a sugar thermometer, then pour the hot syrup in a slow, steady stream into the egg whites, beating for about 10 mins until you have a thick, glossy, firm meringue. It’s easy to underwhisk, so keep going until it looks like
