We had a bit of a heat wave here in Connecticut last week. I figured what better way to fight the heat than to try out a new flavor of gelato. Since I was sticking with Sicilian style gelato, I decided to go with a very popular flavor in Sicily, pistachio.
Serves 6 to 8
2 cups shelled unsalted pistachios
4 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Finely grind pistachios in a food processor, and transfer them to a bowl.
- Place 3 cups of the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat when milk just begins to simmer.
- Combine remaining 1 cup of milk, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl, then stir into the hot milk.
- Return pan to medium heat and cook, stirring until mixture thickens, approximately 10 minutes.
- Stir the hot milk mixture into the bowl of pistachios. Allow to cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing pistachios with the back of a spoon. Discard the pistachios and process the custard in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
