Wow, I’m actually on time for a French Fridays with Dorie post! Anne Leblanc’s Pistachio Avocado was a super-simple, yet unique, dish.
Aside from the avocado, the main ingredient was pistachio oil. I could not find it locally, so I looked for it on my recent trip to the Napa Valley. I found some imported French pistachio oil (I think it was the same brand that Dorie uses) at Dean & Deluca. But it cost $55 for an 8 ounce bottle! Oh, my!
Homemade Pistachio Oil
I did find a less-expensive brand on Amazon, but decided to make my own instead. Astute Dorista Paula found a recipe at Food & Wine that I think many of us tried. If you are interested, you can find the recipe here: Toasted Pistachio Oil.
I’m not used to eating avocado as a side dish, but this was good. I served it with Lemon-Grilled Chicken Breasts as recommended by Dorie in the Bonne Idée. It really was a great combination!
I am curious to know how real pistachio oil tastes compared to the infused oil I made, but not enough to spend $55!
From Scratch 
I was lucky enough to find pistachio oil for *only* $16 for 8 ounces, so I didn’t have to make my own. But I’d be interested to try the homemade, especically with the little pistachio pieces in it for texture and flavor.
I am curious if the one Dorie recommends is truly over the top. It might be because of their abilitiy to infuse the oil in a more sophiscated way than our homemade version, kinda moonshine to champagne, I would guess. But I’m with you I’ve have a lot of very expensive ingredients I have been trying to use up since I joined this group.
Ooooh, I love the meal that you served this with. I was underwhelmed by this recipe but that’s OK – I didn’t dislike it either.
55$? That is steep.
I did like the homemade version – I didn’t strain it, so that may have added to its appeal for me.
Great dinner!
What a gorgeous plate of food! Your pistachio oil looks scrumptious, too!
I have seen recipes of pistachio oil done in the way you made it. Unfortunately, that is not real pistachio oil, since real one is just extracted from pistachios, no olive oil needed.
While olive oil aromatised with pistachios can be delicious and I recommend it, it is better not to confuse people, since this leads them not to appreciate the real reason for the pricing of those rare oils.
BR and thanks for the recipe!
I thought about serving it with the lemon grilled chicken, but decided to use it as an appetizer, instead. Lovely plate of food!
Your dinner looks delicious! I’m sure I would have enjoyed this more in combination with that lovely lemon chicken, rather than on its own as a starter. I made my own pistachio oil too – now I need to figure out what else to do with it!!
I found a good quality oil here and i am very happy with it. That said, I wish I was privy to the groundswell that was dorista pistachio oil making! Sounds like a very fun project indeed!
55$?? Wow I would not spend that much money on ANY oil either. I also made my own and was very pleased with the result. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
55$? What is it made from golden pistachios? No way I was going to spend so much money on any bottles of oil no matter who good it was… but then again I just bought a bottle of Chablis for 80$ so who am I to talk…. at least I can drink the wine and forget my imminent bankruptcy! Have a great weekend Karen!
Your meal looks delicious. Great idea to serve it as a side.
Wow- I think that is the highest price I have heard so far. Way out of my league, though I have to admit I bought some sale Australian extra virgin olive oil from Williams Sonoma that was a larger size (half gallon at least) which originally retailed for almost $100. It was down to $40 and for the size, I rationalized I could use it for bread dipping and salads, where you really want to taste it. My homemade version was fun and I will use the oil on fish and other items but probably not a naked avocado again – we could have used a bit more texture to chomp into. But fun nonetheless !! Tricia
Making your own pistachio oil was a good call. It has such deep color…I’m sure it was good. That is one great looking dinner plate…the chicken looks delectable!
I found it for $20 for about 8 oz (250 ml), but I decided it would go rancid before I finished the whole can. I made my own too. It was DELICIOUS, don’t you think? I love avocado as a side dish. Looks like a wonderful meal.