Pistachio Gelato

Apparently this David Lebovitz guy knows what he is doing. I found this recipe on his website. He has a book out called The Perfect Scoop as well. I am not sure if this recipe is in it, but I plan to find out. Between the book and the website, you are sure to find something good to make. Now this is gelato, so it has a intense flavor. That's a good thing. There was a minor issue of the pistachio paste. I had pistachios, so I assumed that I could make some without havng to hunt down a store that carried the paste. I found several recipes that called for bitter almond extract as part of the recipe. What? Don't know where to find that and I wanted this gelato soon. So I finally found one that called for equal parts pistachio to powdered sugar. Just grind the nuts in the food processor and add the sugar. Give a whirl. Then add water a little at a time until it forms a paste, like marzipan. I had to find some conversions to figure out that 7 ounces is about 3/4 cup plus 2 T. And Voila. Super yummy gelato.

Pistachio Gelato

2 cups (½ liter) whole milk
1/3 cup (65 gr) sugar
2 tablespoons (16 gr) cornstarch (also known as corn flour)
7 ounces (200 gr) Bronte pistachio paste
a few drops of lemon or orange juice (I forgot to add this, it was fine)

Make a slurry by mixing the 1/4 cup of the milk with the cornstarch, mixing until the starch is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

Heat the rest of the milk in a medium-sized saucepan with the sugar. When it almost starts to boil, stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook at gentle simmer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, scrape into a bowl, and chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

Once chilled, whisk in the pistachio paste and just a few drops of citrus juice until smooth. Freeze the gelato in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.