Ingredients
Equipment
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat milk, cream, and half the sugar over medium heat until just steaming (not boiling).
- In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and thick.
- Slowly add a ladle of hot milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly to avoid scrambling. Gradually mix in all the milk.
- Return mixture to the pan and cook on low, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (170–175°F / 77–80°C). Do not boil.
- Blend in Pistachio Paste: Remove from heat and whisk in the pistachio paste, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
- Chill Completely: Strain the mixture into a bowl. Cover and chill 4–6 hours or overnight.
- Churn: Pour the cold base into your ice cream maker and churn until thick and creamy.
- Add the Stracciatella: With the machine running, drizzle in the melted chocolate. It will solidify instantly and break into thin flakes.
- Freeze to Set: Transfer to a container and freeze for 2–3 hours for best texture. Serve slightly softened.
Notes
Use real pistachio paste: Avoid anything bright green or artificially flavored. True pistachio paste has a warm, earthy color and gives the gelato its naturally rich taste.
Choose high-quality chocolate: Stracciatella works best with dark chocolate that melts smoothly and hardens into delicate flakes when it hits the cold gelato.
Chill the base fully: Gelato needs to be cold-cold before churning. An overnight rest creates better texture and deeper pistachio flavor.
Add the chocolate at the right moment: Drizzle it slowly into the churning gelato. Too early and it sinks; too late and it clumps.
Freeze just until set: Gelato is meant to stay softer than ice cream. A couple of hours in the freezer is perfect, too long and it turns icy.