Pistachio Gelato!

Gelato is the Italian form of ice cream with a few differences. The percentage of butterfat is lower, there is less air in the finished product, and it is served at a slightly warmer temperature. Like ice cream it is a delicious cold dessert and one scoop is never enough.

You can make your own version of Marco's Pistachio Gelato at home using the recipe below.

2 cups of water

2 cups of milk

4 egg yolks

3.5 oz. of pistachios – whole, unsalted

2/3 cup of ultrafine sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Put a large mixing bowl in the freezer.

Bring two cups of water to a boil. Add the pistachios. Boil for one minute. Drain the boiled pistachios and rinse under cold water in a colander. Peel the pistachios. Spread the peeled pistachios on an ungreased, non-stick baking sheet. Toast them in the oven at 325 degrees for 3 to 4 minutes, checking to make sure they are golden brown.  Grind the toasted pistachios in a food processor or chop them finely.  Put them aside.

In a sauce pan, bring the two cups of milk to a boil. In a separate bowl, mix the yolks and the sugar together until the mixture is creamy and the sugar is dissolved. Add ½ cup of the milk to the egg yolks mixture, slowly so it does not cook the eggs. Whisk the mix together.

With the rest of the milk, pour into a mixing bowl and add three ounces of the pistachios. Mix for one minute to incorporate the flavor of the pistachios into the milk.

Remove the large mixing bowl from the freezer. Fill the bottom of the mixing bowl with ice to keep it cold. Place a smaller mixing bowl on top of the ice. Combine the pistachio-milk mix and the egg mix in the smaller mixing bowl. Mix together with a whisk for 2 to 3 minutes until everything is cold.

Add mixture to a gelato machine or ice cream machine for about 30-45 minutes until gelato is set. Gelato should still be frozen, but smooth.  When serving, top gelato with the remaining pistachio pieces.