Pistachio Gelato
Sicilian gelato is made without yolks: the base is thickened with starch, which lets the pure taste of pistachio shine. We grind our own paste from unsalted nuts, so the gelato comes out a natural muted olive green rather than a bright one — that’s exactly how it should look. With less fat than ice cream, it tastes lighter and has a lovely elastic texture.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 8 h
- Total
- 8 h 55 min
- Servings
- 6
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 365 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
If you have ready-made 100% pistachio paste with no added sugar, use 100 g and skip the first two steps.
Makes: about 800 ml, 6 servings
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
Oven
100 °C · top and bottom heat, no fan
With a fan: 80 °C
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Step 1: Blanch the pistachios
Cover the pistachios with boiling water for 2 minutes, drain and rub them in a tea towel — most of the purple skins will slip off, giving a cleaner flavour and greener colour. Dry them for 10 minutes in a 100 °C oven without letting them colour.
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Step 2: Grind a paste
Blitz the pistachios with 30 g of the sugar to damp crumbs, then add 50 ml of the milk and keep blending for 2–3 minutes, scraping down the sides, until you have a thick, almost smooth paste.
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Step 3: Cook the base
Stir the cornflour into 100 ml cold milk. Bring the rest of the milk, the cream, remaining sugar and salt almost to the boil, whisk in the cornflour mixture and keep stirring for 2 minutes after it thickens — it should look like thin custard and lose any starchy taste.
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Step 4: Add the paste
Off the heat, stir in the pistachio paste and blitz everything with a stick blender for 1 minute. For the silkiest gelato, push it through a sieve with the back of a spoon.
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Step 5: Chill
Cool the bowl in iced water for 15 minutes, press film onto the surface and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight — the nuts keep infusing the base as it rests.
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Step 6: Churn and freeze
Churn for 20–25 minutes until thick and glossy. Without a machine, freeze in a metal container, beating with a fork every 30 minutes, 4–5 times. Then let it firm up for another 3–4 hours.
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Step 7: Serve it soft
Gelato is served softer than ice cream, so let it sit in the fridge for 10–15 minutes first. Scoop with a flat spatula or spoon and scatter over the chopped pistachios.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Use only unsalted, unroasted pistachios: roasted ones taste oddly of peanut, and salted ones ruin the dessert.
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Swap
If you have ready-made 100% pistachio paste with no added sugar, use 100 g and skip the first two steps.
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Tip
Skip the food colouring: real pistachio gelato is always a muted olive green, never bright lime.
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Storage
Best within 3–4 days; keeps for up to a week in a sealed container.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 6 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 365 kcal | 2,190 kcal |
| Protein | 8 g | 48 g |
| Fat | 20 g | 120 g |
| Carbohydrates | 39 g | 234 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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