Rhubarb & Pistachio Macaroons
I am just about back in control. Of the rhubarb, that is.
I’ve been compotting, pickling, preserving, baking, freezing (less romantic, but very practical) and have worked my way through the armfuls of stems that were plump and in need of urgent picking. I’ve made a fair few savoury dishes with the fat, greener stems – a sauce for pork, a goats cheese and orange salad, a pickled topping for mackerel. But the pinkest ends of the daintiest stems I have saved for pudding purposes….
Such as these rhubarb, pistachio, cardamom and orange macaroons. They’re inspired by an orange blossom and apricot marunchino recipe from some of my favourite cooks, Honey and Co. A doddle to make, they freeze brilliantly, though it’s such a quick cook (apart from the resting) there’s no real need to plan ahead.
Rhubarb, pistachio, orange and cardamom macaroons
Ingredients
- 170g ground almonds
- 80g pistachios, ground in a food processor
- 250g icing sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 orange, zest
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 sticks rhubarb
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until they form a soft, pasty dough. Chill for 30 minutes. (I did say it was easy.)
- Divide the dough into walnut-sized pieces and shape into balls. Roll the balls in extra icing sugar so they are well coated and place them on a lined baking tray. Set aside to dry and form a crust – around an hour.
- Chop the rhubarb into pieces small enough to fit on the macaroons then press a piece of rhubarb into the top of each dough ball.
- Heat the oven to 180C and bake the macaroons for 8-10 minutes, rotating the tray half way through to ensure even browning. Leave to set and cool on the tray then store at room temperature for up to 2 days.
