Pistachio Melbas

Ingredients

• unsalted butter, softened, for greasing pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon packed finely grated lemon zest (zest of 2 lemons)
• 2 teaspoons packed finely grated orange zest (zest of 1 orange)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole raw peeled pistachios

Directions

1. 1

   Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Brush a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with butter and dust it with flour (Or, use cooking spray with flour).

2. 2

   Whisk the flour and salt together in a bowl.

3. 3

   In another medium bowl, rub the citrus zests into the sugar with your fingers until the sugar is fragrant and takes on a bit of the fruit color. Beat the eggs into the sugar with a wooden spoon until blended. Stir in the flour mixture to make a smooth, sticky but pourable batter. Stir in the pistachios. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the surface lightly with a spatula.

4. 4

   Bake until the loaf is lightly browned and pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 40 to 45 minutes. A skewer inserted into the center should come out clean, and the loaf will look like a not so great pound cake. Let stand for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a rack for 1 hour.

5. 5

   Wrap the loaf in plastic and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

6. 6

   Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

7. 7

   Slice the chilled loaf as thin as you can -- 6 to 8 slices to the inch. (It helps to mark the loaf lightly with a serrated knife every half-inch and use that as a guide.) Lay the slices flat on 2 baking sheets and bake until brown, 10 to 20 minutes. Check every 5 minutes (Take care -- the cookies can go from pale to dark brown quickly -- brown is not necessarily bad, just don't let them get charred!).

8. 8

   Let stand overnight or for at least 12 hours on a rack to cool and crisp up. Serve. Store in a well-sealed jar or other container.