This is nothing like the American version of generic pistachio ice cream which usually tastes like vanilla ice cream with a few chopped nuts and a bit of green food coloring. This is a serious rich, deep pistachio flavored wonderfulness! I would expect nothing less from Melissa Clark, one of my favorite food writers.

This recipe was featured in her article The Only Ice Cream Recipe You’ll Ever Need. It uses pistachio paste which is readily available at baking supplies stores and at my Amazon Affiliate Store.

Try it, you will never settle for faux pistachio ice cream again!

PISTACHIO ICE CREAM

EVENT: Moroccan Feast

YIELD: 1 1/2 Pints

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

2/3 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

6 large egg yolks

1 cup unsweetened pistachio paste

¼ teaspoon almond extract

Equipment

Ice cream machine

Directions

1. In a small bowl, simmer heavy cream, milk, sugar and salt until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream.

2. Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).

3. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Whisk in pistachio paste and almond extract. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours overnight.

4. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed.

Print Recipe