Unique recipe for pistachio ice cream made with ground, toasted pistachios for its natural green colour. Made without cream, the milk and coconut milk make this both light and creamy. Although optional, do try with the wasabi paste, as the flavour combination is so good.
50g (1.75 oz/½ cup)ground pistachiosshelled from unsalted, toasted pistachios
1vanilla pod/bean
1teaspoonpistachio paste/extract
5egg yolksorganic
100g (3.5 oz/½ cup)caster / fine sugar
15g (0.5 oz/1 level tbsp)wasabi pasteoptional
Instructions
Heat the milk, coconut milk and pistachios in a heavy-based pan. Scape out the seeds from the vanilla pod and add with the vanilla pod. Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat for the vanilla to infuse for 5-10 minutes with the pan covered.
Cream together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy using a balloon whisk. Add the pistachio paste (or extract), and wasabi paste if using, and whisk well.
Discard the pod from the warmed milk. Gradually pour onto the egg mixture, off the heat to temper the mix, whisking continuously. Return the mixture to the pan on a medium heat, whisking constantly for about 5-10 minutes until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Set the mixture aside to cool.
Once cool, chill in the fridge for an hour before pouring into an ice cream maker. Churn according to your ice cream maker's instructions. Freeze for at least an hour.
Notes
Without an ice cream maker, this recipe can be made no churn by freezing the mixture. Remove from the freezer every 30 minutes and stir and repeat about 4 times until the ice cream is the perfect consistency.Vanilla and pistachio extract: please avoid synthetic pistachio aromas or flavourings. If possible use a vanilla bean/pod or ¼ teaspoon of vanilla powder. To make your own pistachio paste, see my recipe for pistachio pastry cream tarts.Colouring: the ground pistachios already give this ice cream a natural green colour (as used in my photos) but if you prefer it darker green, add a tiny amount only of powdered colouring.Serve on its own, with fresh strawberries or with almond or sesame tuiles. Even better, with pistachio macarons with vanilla and wasabi from Jill's recipe book, Mad About Macarons!Makes 1 litre tub of pistachio ice cream, so at least 6 servings.
Keyword pistachio ice cream, real pistachio ice cream