Roasted Pistachio Ice Cream
I have never had pistachio ice cream. Or a pistachio muffin. Or any other neon green food claiming to be pistachio flavored. The first time I tried a pistachio was in 8th grade. I was on vacation with a friend and her family. I had braces on. Now I wasn’t a very good braces-wearer. I broken brackets off all the time.
My orthodontist was always on my case about it. I had learned how to eat almonds without breaking off brackets, so I figured I could handle a pistachio. I figured wrong. I only ate one pistachio, and I wasn’t overly impressed. Plus I got another lecture at my next orthodontist appointment, so all around pistachios just aren’t my thing…
Hubby on the other hand, loves all things pistachio. They’re one of his favorite nuts to snack on. He loves them so much that every for Christmas, his mom still gives him a 5 lb bag of pistachios. She’s been doing that since he was a boy.
So when I told him I was making some pistachio ice cream, he got really excited. See, I just recently ordered Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, and after browsing through all the recipes (and flagging most of them), I decided on this roasted pistachio ice cream to be the first recipe to try. Not sure what the motivation was, but I’m glad I went with it.
One thing you’ll notice is that it’s not bright green. The pistachios turned a darker brown through the roasting process. I opted to add chunks of roasted pistachios in the ice cream as well to give it some texture.
Having never tasted pistachio ice cream, I can’t really comment on how it compares. What I can tell you is that this ice cream is like a salty peanut buttery ice cream (if your peanut butter was made with roasted pistachios). You guys know I love all things salty and sweet and this stuff definitely hits the mark. Based on the success of this recipe, I can gaurantee you’ll be seeing more of Jeni’s recipes on my blog this summer.
One Year Ago: Balsamic Basil Strawberry Shortcake
Two Years Ago: Golden Snitch Cake Pops and Butterbeer Recipe
Three Years Ago: French Silk Pie
Four Years Ago: Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Roasted Pistachio Ice Cream
Yield: ~1 Quart
Ingredients:
1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, divided in half
2 cups whole milk - I used coconut milk
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 oz (3 Tbsp) cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream - I used coconut milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp almond extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Spread pistacios onto a small baking sheet and toast in oven for 10-12 minutes, until fragrant and starting to turn brown. Remove from oven.
Roughly chop 1/2 cup roasted pistachios and reserve for mixing in later. Place the other 1/2 cup in a food processor and process until you get a smooth paste.
In a small bowl, make a slurry with 2 Tbsp of milk and the cornstarch. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese, pistachio paste, and salt.
Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-qt saucepan. Bring to boil over med-high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in slurry.
Bring mixture back to a boil over med-high heat and cook until slightly thickened (~1 minute). Remove from heat.
Whisk the hot milk mixture in to the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight, until completely cool.
Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Add the almond extract after adding the ice cream to the ice cream maker.
Layer the ice cream with chopped pistachios in a storage container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
Recipe from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
What a gorgeous chocolate!! I adore deep chocolate ice creams.
beantownbaker — May 31st, 2013 @ 10:07 am
You would definitely love this then. It’s so rich and chocolatey!
I just got an ice cream maker and cannot wait to start trying it out… this looks a bit above my skill level, but a good thing to work towards!
beantownbaker — May 31st, 2013 @ 10:08 am
I completely understand wanting to start out with an easier recipe. Sorbets are really easy. No cooking necessary for most sorbet recipes. But def keep this one in the back of your mind for when you feel more confident!
I made this dark chocolate ice cream last year, and it is definitely the best chocolate ice cream I’ve ever had. The 5-day wait time is pure torture, but it’s completely worth it. So glad you enjoyed this as much as I did!
beantownbaker — May 31st, 2013 @ 10:07 am
I agree, it was complete torture, especially after taking a taste after it had processed in the machine…
A rich, deep chocolate ice cream is worth the wait! It’s so hard to find a recipe for the decadent chocolate ice I desire, this recipe has moved to the top of my to-do list!
You can tell just by looking at this how rich and awesome it is!!
beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:52 am
It’s seriously difficult to scoop it’s so thick!
wowza, this certainly tell how rich and decadent it is!! i’m appreciating more and more those things that I only need a spoonful of to satisfy 😉
beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:53 am
This is definitely one of those things. I love chocolate but could only handle one small scoop at a time.
Who isn’t a fan of chocolate?! This looks amazing 🙂
I would love to try this recipe. I am wondering why you used coconut milk, and I’m assuming full fat coconut milk?
beantownbaker — June 16th, 2013 @ 7:47 pm
i use coconut milk because I’m lactose intolerant so I can’t use cow’s milk or heavy cream. If you want to use those dairy products, follow the instructions in the original recipe. And yes, I use full fat coconut milk.