Homemade Pistachio Ice Cream

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make homemade pistachio ice cream? Gather your ingredients. The dairy and eggs can go straight from the fridge into the recipe. Use unsalted pistachios of any size — the amount listed is the weight after shelling. For the cream, use the richest you can find (at least 33% / heavy cream), natural and good quality.

2. Step 2:

   

   Start with the nuts — this is easily the most tedious part of the whole recipe. Shell the pistachios, then pour boiling water over the kernels and let them sit for 15 minutes. Drain them in a colander and rinse with cold water. Now slip off the loosened skins, which should come away easily. Rinse the nuts once more, let them drain, and pat them dry between two towels.

3. Step 3:

   

   Spread the clean nuts on a baking sheet and dry them in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 5 to 7 minutes. If you're working ahead, you can just let them air-dry well instead. Then put the nuts in a blender, pour in all the milk, and blend on high for about 2 minutes, until smooth and uniform.

4. Step 4:

   

   While the nuts blend, separate the yolks into a mixing bowl and add half the sugar (50 g / 1/4 cup).

5. Step 5:

   

   In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the heavy cream, the milk-pistachio mixture, the remaining sugar, and a pinch of vanilla. Set it over medium heat and, stirring constantly, bring it just to the verge of a boil. The moment the first bubbles appear, pull the pan off the heat — don't let it actually boil.

6. Step 6:

   

   Whisk the yolks and sugar until pale and increased in volume. Pour the hot creamy pistachio base into the yolks a little at a time, whisking hard and constantly the whole way so the yolks don't curdle from the heat.

7. Step 7:

   

   Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and set it over low heat. Cook it down, stirring constantly and never letting it boil, or the yolks may curdle. The moment the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, take it off the heat.

8. Step 8:

   

   Strain the cooked custard through a fine sieve.

9. Step 9:

   

   Pour it into a freezer container. Stir as it cools to room temperature, then move it to the freezer. After 1 hour, pull it out, stir the contents, and return it to the freezer until fully frozen. In theory that's 6 to 8 hours; I make mine ahead and leave it about a full day.

10. Step 10:

    

    Serve the ice cream topped with chopped pistachios, crushed wafers, chocolate, other nuts, or a drizzle of syrup. On its own it comes out lightly sweet, with a delicate creamy-pistachio flavor. Enjoy!