Carrots & Pistachio Nuts in a Cointreau Sauce

Someone gave my husband a huge bag of pistachio nuts.  Now that’s the kind of thing I do NOT need hanging around my house, taunting me with their salty, crunchi-liciousness (I made that word up.) What’s worse is they’re shelled, so all I have to do is reach in and grab a handful.

Of course, the wheels in my head started cranking, looking for ideas to use up these bad boys. My immediate thought was to a carrots and pistachios recipe I’ve had since before I was married. It’s so good that my friend Deno (who has the will power to actually eat ONE potato chip), was sneaking extra helpings. But over the years I’ve rarely made this dish because I hate shelling the pistachio nuts (yes, I’m lazy).

Now that I have access to a pound of shelled pistachios, Carrots & Pistachio Nuts in a Cointreau Sauce will be a common side dish in our home for weeks to come…at least, until the pistachios are gone.

I stream-lined the original recipe (again – lazy) by steaming the carrots, rather than boiling them in butter and water then reducing the cooking liquid. To make up for the lost butter, I just added more to the Cointreau sauce.

CARROTS & PISTACHIO NUTS IN COINTREAU SAUCE

• 2 cups carrots cut in ½”- 1″ pieces
• 1½ T butter
• 2 T Cointreau (option:  use orange juice if you don’t want the alcohol)
• 2 T pistachio nuts, salted & shelled
• ½ tsp salt

Steam the carrots until a fork can just pierce them. Don’t overcook! It only takes about 5 minutes.

While the carrots are steaming, melt butter in a saucepan.  Add Cointreau, salt, and pistachio nuts. Sauté 1 minute.

Gently stir the sauce and carrots together. DONE! An elegant side dish that’s a snap to make!!!