Hazelnut Ice-cream

Gelato di nocciola

from The Second Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan

This is a delicious ice-cream (don't worry Amy, you will like the hazelnuts in this dish!). I first made it when we lived in Dallas. It was so hot that day that I couldn't get my truffles, which I planned to serve with it, to the right consistency (temperature) to mold them. I finally gave up and put a-to-loose-to-mold-truffle into the bottom of a champagne glass topped with the gelatio di nociola and called ith hazel nut ice-cream with truffle sauce!

4 ounces shelled hazelnuts
1 1/3 cups whole milk
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Toast the hazel nuts under the broiler for 4 or 5 minutes, turning them frequently. Skin them by rubbing them one against the other, while still fairly hot. Grind them in your blender (the food processor doesn't produce quite the right consistency).

Warm-up the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until the edge is ringed with tiny bubbles. Turn off the heat at once and put in the hazelnut paste, mix thoroughly, and cover the pan. Allow to cool completely.

Line a strainer with cheese cloth and set it over a bowl. Pour the hazelnut-milk mixture into the strainer and press as much of it as will go through into the bowl. You will find that, since it is rather thick, only a small amount will pass through. At this point, roll-up the ends of the cloth, tightly compressing the nut-milk mixture within. Suspend the muslin over the bowl and squeeze gently, forcing as much of the contents as will come (caveat: be careful because if you exert too much pressure the cloth will burst and it will go everywhere--something that, unfortunately, happened to Dad at least twice).

In another bowl, beat the egg yalks and sugar until the yolks are pale and foamy. Add the strained nut-milk mixture to the eggs, mixing it in a little at a time.

Pour everything into the top part of a double boiler. Turn on the heat to medium. Stir constantly and cook for 3 to 4 minutes after the water in the lower half has started to bubble.

Pour into a bowl and allow to cool completely. When cool, chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, then freeze in your ice-cream freezer.

Serves 4