Pine Nuts
Pine nuts are small, delicate seeds harvested from pine cones, prized for their buttery richness and essential to classic Italian pesto and a wide range of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes.
How to buy
Pine nuts should look pale ivory and smell sweet and mild -- any sharp, bitter, or metallic taste or smell is a sign they've gone rancid, which happens faster with pine nuts than with harder nuts. Buy in small quantities given both their cost and their short shelf life.
How to store
Because of their high oil content, pine nuts go rancid quickly at room temperature; store them in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer, where they'll stay fresh for several months.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Buttery, mild, and faintly resinous, with a sweetness that's heightened noticeably by light toasting, though they burn quickly given their small size and high fat content.
- Texture
- Soft and tender with a slight give, less crunchy than almonds or walnuts, and they turn creamy when blended into sauces like pesto.
- Aroma
- A mild, sweet, buttery smell with a faint pine-like resin note, more pronounced once toasted.
How to prepare
- Toasted — Briefly toasted in a dry pan to deepen their buttery flavor before using.
- Blended into pesto — Ground with basil, garlic, and olive oil into the classic Genovese sauce.
- Tossed into salads and pilafs — Scattered raw or toasted over rice, grain salads, and cooked greens for richness.
- Baked into cookies — Pressed onto the outside of cookies like Italian pignoli for a crisp, nutty shell.
Classic dishes
Italian
- Pesto alla Genovese — A sauce of basil, garlic, olive oil, and pine nuts blended smooth, classic to Liguria.
- Pignoli cookies — Soft almond-paste cookies rolled in pine nuts before baking.
- Pasta con le sarde — A Sicilian pasta dish combining sardines, fennel, raisins, and pine nuts.
- Caponata — A Sicilian sweet-and-sour eggplant relish finished with pine nuts and raisins.
- Torta della nonna — A custard-filled Italian tart topped with pine nuts and a dusting of powdered sugar.
- Sicilian pine nut biscotti — Crisp twice-baked cookies studded with pine nuts.
Mediterranean
- Moroccan couscous with pine nuts and raisins — Steamed couscous tossed with toasted pine nuts, raisins, and warm spices.
- Mediterranean toasted pine nut salad — A simple green salad finished with toasted pine nuts and shaved cheese.
Greek
- Spanakopita with pine nuts — A Greek spinach and feta pie, with some regional versions adding toasted pine nuts to the filling.
Spanish
- Espinacas a la catalana — A Catalan side dish of spinach sautéed with pine nuts and raisins.
- Roasted piñones — Whole pine nuts roasted and eaten as a simple Spanish snack.
Middle Eastern
- Dolma — Grape leaves stuffed with rice, herbs, and pine nuts, served warm or cold.
- Lebanese rice pilaf with pine nuts — Rice cooked with toasted pine nuts and sometimes vermicelli for added crunch.
- Tabbouleh with toasted pine nuts — A parsley and bulgur salad finished with a scattering of toasted pine nuts.
- Turkish baklava with pine nuts — A regional variation of baklava using pine nuts in place of walnuts or pistachios.
Substitutions
- Walnut — A more assertive, slightly bitter substitute in pesto; chop finely to approximate the smaller size of pine nuts.
- Sunflower Seed — A cheaper, nut-free swap in pesto and salads, with a milder, less buttery flavor.