Pistachio Gelato

Who knew? It’s too good to be true! But it is true, a tasty gluten-free, dairy-free gelato. This recipe turns out creamy due to the heart-healthy fats from the pistachios.

Pistachio Gelato – Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free

Ingredients

2 cups roasted, unsalted whole pistachios – use divided

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Green food coloring (optional)

Preparation

1. Put 1 cups pistachios in a bowl and cover completely with water, soak for 1 – 8 hours. Drain and rinse pistachios in a strainer under cold running water until the water runs clear.

2. Chop the remaining cup pistachios with the salt in a food processor until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

3. Put the soaked pistachios in a blender with 2 cups of water. Process for 2 – 3 minutes or until the mixture is very smooth. It should be the consistency of very heavy cream. If too thick, add a little more water and blend.

4. Take cup of the pistachio cream and mix with the cornstarch until completely blended. Pour the rest of the pistachio cream into a large saucepan, combine with the chopped pistachios and sugar and cook over medium-high heat until it just starts to boil. Add in the cornstarch mixture and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. The mixture should be the consistency of pudding. Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. If you want the color a little greener, stir in some green food coloring drops, a few drops at a time, until if becomes the desired shade of green.

5. For a smooth gelato, push the mixture through a strainer into a bowl or for a chunkier texture just scrape the mixture into a bowl. Top with a piece of plastic wrap placed directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let the mixture cool to room temperature then refrigerate for about 2 hours or until cold.

6. Put mixture into an ice cream machine and process for 20 – 25 minutes or according to the manufactures instructions.

7. Can be eaten immediately or stored in the freezer in an airtight container. Take out of freezer for about 5 minutes to soften before serving.

Note – if you make this recipe with salted pistachios, leave the additional salt out of the recipe.

*Recipe and image courtesy of www.thegreennut.org.*