Pre-heat the oven to 325ºF.

Place the graham crackers and the pistachios in a food processor and process to obtain fine crumbs.

In a bowl, mix together the graham crackers and pistachio crumbs with sugar and melted butter.

Press the mixture on the bottom of an 8” or 9” cheesecake pan. If using an 8” pan, it must be deep.

Bake the crust in the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove it from the oven and let it cool down.

Start by skinning the pistachios if you want to obtain a green paste.

Bring a pot with 1 quart of water to a boil.

Once it starts to boil, add the pistachios to the water. Turn the water off the heat, and let the pistachios soak in the boiling water for 1 minute.

Drain the pistachios onto a sheet or plate lined with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.

Spread the pistachios on top of the towel, and rub them gently to help peel the skin.

Then you might have to individually continue to peel the skins off the pistachios. This can take about 20 or 30 minutes.

Discard the skins.

Place the pistachios in a food processor or blender.

Process for a couple of minutes.

Add one tablespoon of water at a time, processing in between, until you find a smooth consistency.

Scrape it into a bowl and it’s ready to be used.

Beat the cream cheese for 3 minutes with a mixer at medium speed, until creamy.

Add the pistachio paste, granulated sugar, and sour cream to the cream cheese and beat for another 2 minutes at medium speed.

Scrape the bowl and beat for another 30 seconds.

Add the almond and vanilla extract, and mix.

Add the eggs to the batter, mix just until combined.

Pour the cheesecake in the pan, over the baked and cooled crust.

Wrap the bottom of the pan with a few layers of foil.

Place the pan in a larger roasting pan, and add hot water to the roasting pan, to form a water bath.

Bake the cheesecake in the pre-heated 325ºF oven for 60 to 70 minutes.

To check if the cheesecake is done baking, give the pan a little wiggle, it should jiggle slightly in the center, but the edges should look set.

Turn the oven off, and leave the cheesecake in there for 1 hour.

Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place it in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

Mix the heavy cream and pistachio paste together.

Heat up the mixture until 175ºF, or until very hot in the microwave, before it comes to a boil.

Pour the cream into the white chocolate through a strainer, to obtain a smooth ganache.

Let the ganache cool down at room temperature for about 2-3 hours, or place it in the fridge.

Spread the thickened ganache on top of the cheesecake. Use an offset spatula to smooth it out.

Sprinkle chopped pistachio nuts around the edges of the cheesecake.