Frozen Pistachio Halvah Pie

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Preheat oven to 350°F.

   Step 2

   Melt butter. Into a food processor break crackers and finely grind. With motor running, add butter. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up side of a 9 1/2-inch (5-cup) pie plate and bake in middle of oven 6 to 8 minutes, or until shell is a shade darker. Cool shell on a rack.

   Step 3

   In a shallow baking pan toast pistachios in middle of oven 5 minutes, or until a shade darker. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons pistachios for sprinkling on pie and finely chop remainder. In a saucepan dissolve sugar in milk over moderate heat, stirring, and remove pan from heat. In a metal bowl whisk milk mixture and vanilla into halvah until halvah is dissolved. Set bowl with halvah mixture in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and cool mixture, stirring occasionally.

   Step 4

   In a bowl beat cream until it just holds stiff peaks. Fold cream and chopped pistachios into halvah mixture and pour into shell. Freeze pie, uncovered, 1 hour. Sprinkle reserved pistachios over pie. Freeze pie, uncovered, until frozen hard, about 4 hours. Pie may be made 2 days ahead and frozen, covered with plastic wrap and foil after 5 hours. Let pie stand at room temperature about 15 minutes to slightly soften (for ease of cutting) before serving.