Pistachio Gelato - Molto Pistachio

We have an ice cream maker since about four years and so far it remained as good as unused in our kitchen. It was a gift by my grandmother to my husband. And to be honest, I suggested her the gift ...

Reason: I love ice cream, but by no means I eat it all the time. It is something special for every now and then. And now that I know how easy it is to prepare, whenever this special occasion arrives, there will be a new ice cream experiment in the future.  

This ice cream, or to be exact gelato, the Italian version of ice cream, was my first serious attempt and I was surprised how easy it was to prepare. I was skeptical as my ground pistachios did not dissolve in the milk, but I assume that this is how it is. Later after straining the milk and pressing on the pistachios, the color came out very nicely and intensively green. There was absolutely no need to add food coloring.

I strained the mixture two times to make sure that there are no tiny pieces of shell remaining. 

If you don't want to prepare the ice bath, just let the mixture cool down. The ice bath just makes the process faster. 

Compared to other ice cream, this gelato is relatively light, as it uses no cream or egg yolks. Therefore, there is no need for guilty conscience if you have some more.

Whole Milk, Kosher Salt, Pistachios, Cornstarch, and Sugar.

Add 3 tablespoons of milk to the cornstarch and whisk until smooth.

Grind the pistachios until very fine. It will have the texture of a paste.

Bring the milk below a boil, then add the kosher salt, sugar, and milk/cornstarch mixture.

Put your milk mixture into an ice bath and let it cool down.

When cooled down, add the pistachios the milk mixture.

Strain the mixture, pressing on the pistachio nuts.

Your mixture after straining.

Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Pistachio Gelato
Recipe by Jill Santopietro originally published in: The New York Times

Makes 1 quart.

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup sugar

2 cups shelled, toasted, unsalted pistachios, finely ground



Preparation:
 
Take 3 tablespoons of the milk and mix it with the cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.

Bring the remaining milk to just below a boil.  Next, whisk in the salt, sugar and cornstarch mixture. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved, about 8 minutes.

Prepare an ice bath and place your pot in there. After the mixture is cooled down, stir in the pistachios. 

Refrigerate overnight.

Strain the mixture. Make sure that you press on the nuts to get out all the liquid. 

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze until thick according to the manufacturer's instructions.

If you want you can freeze the gelato or serve immediately.