Creamy Pistachio Ice Cream

Preparation

Step 1: Infuse the milk

Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Split the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and add them with the pod and the pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Strain the milk and remove the pod.

This long infusion lets the vanilla perfume the whole ice cream base in depth.

Step 2: Make the crème anglaise

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale. Pour the warm vanilla milk in a thin stream over the yolks while whisking vigorously, then return everything to the saucepan. Thicken over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 85°C — the cream should coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from the heat immediately and pass the custard through a fine sieve to remove any lumps.

Step 3: Flavour with pistachio

Stir the pistachio paste into the still-warm custard and whisk until perfectly smooth and homogeneous, with a beautiful pale green colour. Leave to cool completely at room temperature.

Then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight: a well-chilled base always churns better.

Step 4: Churn

Pour the cold mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for 30 to 40 minutes until you get a creamy, soft texture. The ice cream should be the consistency of malleable soft serve, with no crystals.

No ice cream maker? Pour the base into a shallow dish and stir it every 30 minutes for 3 hours.

Step 5: Freeze and serve

Transfer the ice cream to a freezer container and freeze for at least 2 hours to firm it up. Roughly chop the unsalted pistachios.

Serve the ice cream in generous scoops in coupe glasses, scattered with the crushed pistachios. Take it out 10 minutes before serving so it is soft and melting.