After my first ice cream experience, I had all kinds of flavour combinations in mind and it did not take me too long to create my second tub of frozen goodness. I chose pistachio because of its vibrant green colour and the subtle crunch it brings to my creamy mixture.  As usual, I did not stick to the recipe, from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis. Instead of mixing the nuts into the cream, I used the same method as with my vanilla bean ice cream and let the custard seep in the fragrance of the freshly chopped pistachios. The green food colouring is only for looks; you can very well do without to keep it all ‘natural’.

PISTACHIO ICE CREAM

 

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks

6 tbs caster sugar

1 tsp cornflour

1 1/4 cups milk

1 cup pistachios

1 1/4 cups whipping cream

Green food colouring

Method:

  • Place the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl and whisk until the mixture is thick and foamy.

  • Pour the milk in a heavy based saucepan, gently bring it to the boil, then gradually whisk it into the egg mixture.

  • Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook it over gentle heat, stiring constantly until the custard thickens and is smooth.

  • Pour it back into the bowl, set aside to cool, then chill in the refrigerator until required.

  • Shell the pistachios and put them in a food processor or blender. Add 2 tbs of cream and grind into a coarse paste.

  • Pour the rest of the cream into a small saucepan. Bring it to the boil, stir in the coarsely ground pistachios, leave to cool.

  • Mix the chilled custard and the pistachio cream together and tint the mixture delicately with a few drops of food colouring.

  • Pour the mixture into a plastic tub and freeze for 6 hours, beating once or twice with a fork to break up ice crystals.

  • Scoop ice cream into cones or dishes and sprinkle each portion with a few extra pistachios before serving.
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