Strawberry Pistachio Ice Cream

I was fairly tired after finally making it home (thanks to a 3 hour delay courtesy of my favorite airline), but there was also this strong craving for strawberries. So after making sure the Diva was happy (she pretends to miss me, but I’m pretty sure it’s all about the food for her) and unpacking a few things, I set my mind towards coming up with a good way to get my strawberry fix…

It just so happened that strawberries were included in my CSA box. But when I went to get my half of the share from Greyhound Celebrity, I realized the berries were a bit too small for a big dessert. But they would work nicely in an ice cream! With that in mind, I stopped by Whole Foods for some additional strawberries (to augment what I had gotten in the box), some cream and milk and some pistachios! Yup, I was going to throw some nuts in the mix and (hold on to your hats dear readers) marinate the strawberries in balsamic vinegar and a bit of sugar for an added punch.

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 egg yolks

1 cup sugar (and a tablespoon for the marinade)

1 pound of strawberries, sliced and diced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pistachios

Remove the stems and cut the tops off of the strawberries, slicing them and placing them in a mixing bowl. Add a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of the vinegar to the strawberries, tossing to make sure the berries are evenly coated. Set aside for at least 2 hours.

Place the pistachios in a separate bowl and pour boiling water completely over them. Allow them to sit for about a minute and then drain. In a saucepan, combine the egg yolks, the milk, the pistachios and the remaining sugar, stirring to incorporate everything. Turn the heat to medium high, stirring frequently until the mixture comes to a near boil. Remove it before a full boil begins and pour it into a chilled bowl. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least three hours. You want the mixture to become almost custard like in its consistency.

Pour the mixture into the chilled bowl of an automatic ice cream maker. At this point you should follow the instructions for your particular ice cream maker model. For my Cuisinart model, I placed the churner (I have no idea what else to call the mixing “blade” that goes inside the bowl…so yes, I made up a word) in the chilled bowl, placed the plastic cover over the bowl and then poured the mixture into the bowl. I then turned on the machine and allowed it to churn for 25 minutes (I like my ice cream a bit soft, so if you like yours harder, let it churn for at least 35 minutes).

So while I should have probably unpacked all of my things and responded to the many emails in my inbox, I opted for some homemade ice cream and the latest episode of Top Chef. And I don’t regret it one bit…