Gluten Free Dairy Free Pistachio Gelato Recipe
Updated Feb 28, 2020, Published Sep 16, 2010
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At the International Food Blogger Conference last month I eyed the spectacular photos and listened with half an ear to a presentation by Dr. Nathan Myhrvold on Modernist Cuisine. The reason I listened with only half an ear is that for the most part, while fascinating, Modernist Cuisine is not really applicable to me as a home cook. (Case in point, I was treated to a fabulous leg of lamb by my chef friend Darrell which was prepared in an $1,100.00 sous vide – a method of cooking vacuum sealed food at really low temperatures for a long time – for 18 hours. Yes, it was melt-in-your-mouth tender and really flavorful but that’s an awful lot of money for a contraption and a really long time to wait for dinner!)
What caught my attention however was when Dr. Myhrvold mentioned they had made dairy-free pistachio ice cream using pistachio oil that was intensely flavorful. He sited that dairy actually masks the flavor of the pistachios and commercially prepared pistachio ice cream often contains almond extract to make up for the lack of nut flavor. Hmmm, this was interesting so I started asking questions. The exchange went something like this:
Me: Where do you get pistachio oil?
Dr. M.: First you grind pistachios…
Me: With what?
Dr. M.: Oh, what ever you would grind wheat with. Then it will turn into a paste like peanut butter and you need to let the solids separate from the oil.
Me: For how long?
Dr. M.: As long as it takes. (I hate answers like that!) Then you take the oil and mix with water and emulsify it.
Me: With what?
Dr. M.: We have a machine that does that but maybe a blender or something? Then you add in a little of the pistachio paste, churn it up and voila, best tasting pistachio ice cream ever.
Me: What is the ratio of water to pistachio oil?
This is where he became a little annoyed with me and said the recipe would be in his book (I should say books. Modernist Cuisine is a multi volume set of books that will sell for somewhere between $500.00 and $650.00.) But because I am sweet and smiled really pretty at him he did start in on how I could figure that out by figuring out the percentage of fat to water in substances like cream or half and half. At this point he was talking science and to me it sounded like the teachers in those Peanuts cartoons.
Well I immediately saw a few problems with this for me. First of all, I don’t eat wheat and thus do not have a machine that grinds it. Secondly, it seems like a huge waste to use only the oil of the pistachio paste and just a little bit of the solids. Thirdly, it just seemed like too much trouble and too long to wait. So I started thinking about how I could do this at home with what I have. Actually I started obsessing about it.
I decided to employ a favorite method of raw and vegan cooks. One of the things they use in place of dairy cream is cashew cream made from ground soaked cashews. Why wouldn’t it work with pistachios?
Well, the answer is it does!
I decided to make my dairy free version a gelato instead of an ice cream. It is indeed intensely rich and pistachio flavored. The only thing I didn’t like was the color (a bit too browny/yellowy green) but a few drops of green food coloring fixed that. My husband would have preferred his gelato smoother while I like the bits of nuts. If you want a smooth gelato, strain the mixture before processing in the ice cream maker.
You can eat this straight out of the ice cream maker but if you want to make ahead and store in the freezer, take it out for 5 or 10 minutes to soften up first before serving.
Gluten Free Dairy Free Pistachio Gelato Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups roasted, – unsalted whole pistachios, use divided
- ¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Green food coloring , – optional
Instructions
- Put 1½ 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.
- Chop the remaining ½ cup pistachios with the salt in a food processor until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
- Put the soaked pistachios in a blender with 2¼ 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.
- Take ½ 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.
- 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.
- Put mixture into an ice cream machine and process for 20 – 25 minutes or according to the manufacturers instructions.
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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That looks absolutely amazing Carol! :)
This looks and sounds amazing. I've never made my own ice cream or gelato before so this is definitely something I will have to try sometime soon!
Oh yum! Now that's something I am going to have to try!!! Gluten and dairy free, your my hero! Many thanks xx
Brilliant! Carol you are so smart. I listened to the same person and the teacher from Peanuts never left my ears. So glad you heard more and created this. Can't wait to give it a try. Just have to shell more pistachios than I eat.
What a great idea! Clever thinking. It's a bit like when millions of dollars went into creating the pen that would write in space with zero gravity, when all that was really needed was a pencil!
oh my gosh, that looks amazing!
Way to go on this idea. I love it. And I think I'll have to make it ASAP – before the first chilly snap!
Hey Carol,
This is so beautiful! And I love pistachios, but I've never thought to make ice cream/gelato with them. I'd love to try this! I've added this to My Favorite Recipes from Last Week post. Thanks!
~Aubree Cherie
Oh wow that looks so good, what great mix of flavours
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