Pistachio Ice Cream

While Justin and I studied abroad in Rome, we were quite literally addicted to gelato, the creamy, fluffy version of ice cream that Italians guzzle in near identical quantities as wine. The best part about gelato is the vast assortment of flavors they can come in, from walnut to blackberry to my favorite, cioccolato [chocolate].

Love, in so many ways

When you order a gelato, you can usually get up to three flavors smashed into one cone or cup, which allowed for maximum experimentation. It almost became a challenge to determine the perfect blend of flavors, since by the time you finished your cup it was all one syrupy mass anyway.

One of our favorites was pistachio, which up until studying in Italy, we had no idea could be made into an ice cream flavor. To my memory I haven't seen it anywhere in the States. For our wedding we got an ice cream maker, so we put two and two together, and, well...

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients

1 quart heavy cream
1 cup cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups crushed salted pistachios + 1/4 cup sugar

Procedure

Put the pistachios and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor and blend until they are very fine, but not so fine that they make pistachio butter!

Meanwhile, warm the heavy cream in a saucepan. Add the sugar, vanilla, and pistachio blend and warm through for about 20 minutes just to get the flavors really melded. Don't boil it!!

Pour the mixture into a large container, cover with plastic wrap on the surface of the actual mixture so it doesn't form a skin, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Pour into an ice cream maker. Let 'er roll.

Justin's all-time favorite.

-Katie