PISTACHIO GELATO

Pistachio Gelato image

Provided by Martha Stewart

Yield Makes about 1 quart

Number Of Ingredients 5

2 cups (1/2 pound) shelled pistachios
3 cups whole milk
5 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add pistachios and cook 30 seconds. Drain pistachios. When cool enough to handle, remove outer skins; discard. Spread nuts on a baking sheet and toast in oven 5 minutes. Let cool completely, then grind coarsely.
Combine milk and ground pistachios in a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, cover, and remove pan from heat. Let steep 2 hours. Pass through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, pressing hard on solids. Reserve strained milk, and discard solids.
Combine egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream at medium-high speed until very thick and pale yellow, 3 to 5 minutes. Return milk to a simmer.
Add half of the warm milk to egg-yolk mixture, and whisk until blended. Return new mixture to saucepan with remaining milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
Remove from heat and immediately stir in cream. Pass mixture through a strainer into a medium bowl. Set over an ice bath to chill. Freeze in a ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Store in a plastic container.