It's been warm outside, that lovely sun on your skin warm. What better way to celebrate then with some of this luxuriously velvety pistachio ice cream? It has a subtle clean flavour that makes it easy to eat and a pretty tenderly green hue that makes it easy on the eyes. 
The original recipe is from Table for Two and also incorporates dark chocolate. I omitted it from the recipe simply because I didn't have any on hand, but I can totally see how they would add to both the flavor and the texture of the icecream. Pistachios make me happy so I kept mine a little nubby, but you can grind them to your desired texture.
If pistachio is not your thing then how about some Milk Chocolate Ice cream? Or there is my super intense Rich Chocolate Ice cream or even the Salted Caramel Ice cream that I transformed into a chocolate covered treat!
Pistachio Ice Cream
Ingredients
For the pistachio paste
- ¾ cup unsalted pistachios shelled
- 6 tbsp. heavy cream
For the ice cream custard base
- 1½ cups half and half
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- ½ tsp. almond extract optional
- ¾ cup dark chocolate finely chopped
Instructions
- Use a food processor (I used my magic bullet) to grind nuts to desired size.
- Add the 6T of cream just to combine.
- Heat the half and half and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat till it is hot, but not boiling.
- Use a clean large bowls whisk the egg yolks until pale yellow and thick, about 5 minutes.
- Temper the egg yolks by splashing in a very small amount of the warm half and half mixture while whisking constantly - this helps you to not 'scramble' the eggs
- Gradually pour the tempered egg yolks into the saucepan with the half and half and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream into a large bowl then pour in the egg mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the almond extract (if using) then whisk in the pistachio paste until evenly dispersed and there are no clumps remaining.
- Cover the bowl and let chill for at least 6 hours in the refrigerator.
- Once chilled, pour the mixture into the bowl of the ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add in the dark chocolate and churn until evenly dispersed throughout the ice cream.
- Scoop ice cream out into a freezer-safe container and freeze overnight.
This looks delicious! I need a food processor though! I don't think using my hand blender would be a wise move.
chop chop chop! (literally!) hehe
also do you not have a magic bullet? its my bestie!
ooh, I love pistachio gelato so I imagine that pistachio ice cream would be even more delicious!
Yummm. Pistachios make me happy too 😀 I love pistachio ice cream. Want to try this one right away.
Thanks Farah!
Sarah, I cannot stop drooling looking at this pistachio icecream!
oh my goodness - thank you so much Sandhya!
Your ice cream looks amazing and so pretty with the subtle green from the pistachios!
Thank you so much Starr!
This looks so good! I was just googling Pistachio Ice Cream. My husband loves it! For heavy cream did you use table cream or whipping cream?
I used whipping cream, but I think it would work if I ground the pistachios with milk and then only had to buy the cream for the custard base. Hope you try it and like it, it's a lot mellower than some pista icecreams I have had but it has been such a hit!