Pistachio Ice Cream

In accordance with my recent vow to spend more quality time with my ice cream maker, I made pistachio ice cream yesterday.  Every time I visit an ice cream shop, it's always a toss up between the hazelnut and pistachio flavor.  (Usually I end up getting both...)  Although sometimes having ice cream in an unfamiliar ice cream shop could be a complete let-down.  There's nothing more disappointing in pistachio ice cream than artificial flavor and awful bright green food coloring.  By taking matters into my own hands, I can be sure to eliminate both and let the natural roasted pistachio flavor shine through!

A note on the vanilla bean.  There's many uses for the leftover bean once the seeds are scraped out.  Making vanilla sugar is one of my favorite ways to savage it.  Just put the leftover bean in a jar of granulated sugar, close tightly, wait a couple of days, and voilà, fragrant vanilla sugar to use in everyday baking and coffee!

Pistachio Ice Cream

1 cup shelled unsalted pistachio
6 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean

Spread pistachio evenly in a single layer in a saucepan.  Heat over medium-high heat to lightly toast nuts until fragrant.  Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

Put cooled pistachios into the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse for about a minute until the nuts are very finely chopped.  (If you prefer whole pieces of nuts in your finished ice cream, you can also reserve a handful of whole nuts to be incorporated in the final stages.)

 

In a large mixing bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Whisk until pale and sugar has dissolved.

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine milk and heavy cream.  With a sharp paring knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of the knife.  Add vanilla seeds to milk mixture.  Heat mixture until hot, but not boiling.

While constantly whisking the egg yolks, slowly pour in hot milk.  Add prepared ground pistachios.  Return the entire mixture into saucepan.  Heat over medium heat, while constantly stirring with a wooden spoon.  After a few minutes, mixture will thicken.  Turn off heat when the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon.  Pour mixture into a clean bowl and cool to room temperature.  Cover with plastic film and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Prepare ice cream machine.  Pour in chilled mixture while the machine is running on lowest speed.  Churn until the mixture starts to resemble soft-serve.  (I use a Kitchen Aid mixer ice cream attachment, it took about 16 minutes.) If using, add in reserved whole pistachios.  Stop machine when nuts are incorporated.

Scoop ice cream into an airtight contained and freeze for at least 1 hour to firm up the ice cream.  Ice cream will stay fresh in the freezer for up to two weeks in an airtight container.  Enjoy!