Saffron Spice Gelato (+ Plain Base Recipe)

Last night I made Chard and Saffron Omelettes for dinner, and finished things off with Saffron Spice Gelato for dessert. I felt quite proud of myself, having made such a great meal. It's rare that I get moments of self-directed pride, and even more unusual that I talk about them, because no one really wants to be seen as egotistical. But last night was a good night and it rang with the kind of things I really want in this life I am rebuilding - food from scratch, good company, and good conversation. Goals to continually strive for.

In other happenings, I finally broke down and went into the local stationery store, Paper Umbrella. I walk by it all the time on my way to yoga, but I know the siren song of paper products too well, and my budget is tight enough that I really shouldn't tempt myself. So for the better part of a year I've oogled the windows whenever I've gone by and quietly been grateful that it's been closed. Well, going in when it is open is by far more delightful, and decidedly more expensive ^_^. I won't make a habit of it, but it was nice to treat myself to a few things, including a magazine I'd never seen before called Anthology with which I am a little in love. Focused primarily on art and design with a heavy dose of excellent recipes, this just might be the replacement for Fine Cooking's magazine I've been looking for. I am dedicated to traditional print media (sounds like throwing a gauntlet in such a technology driven society) and I know a few people who read this are as well, so thought I'd put it forward for others to check out if they are so inclined.

Now on to the actual purpose of this post - gelato...

I found The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto  three or four years ago while browsing Chapters during a summer visit. I collect cookbooks in a haphazard kind of way, and was immediately attracted to this bright turquoise volume. Despite not owning an ice cream maker at the time, I purchased it and read it through with a lot of enthusiasm. Then I discovered that Kitchenaid made an ice cream maker attachment for my stand mixer and decided that I was going to make some of the recipes that had intrigued me. For the most part I made sorbettos, as I have issues off and on with dairy. I found the process to be fairly simple and enjoyable, and the flavours to be far superior to store bought sorbet.  A few days ago I made my first gelato proper, and again found the process to be fairly simple and enjoyable, and the flavour to be delightful. Gelato takes longer than sorbetto due to the extra step of creating the custard base, but the results are well worth it. And despite using whole milk and cream in the custard, I had no issues with the gelato at all. A friend said this might be due to the fact that the dairy ingredients get heated up which changes the milk, converting it into something less confrontational for those with dairy sensitivities. I'll have to read up on it to find out if that was what happened or if something else may be the reason. Either way, I am not complaining.

Saffron Spice Gelato
(p. 106, Ciao Bella)

Makes ~1 quart (~3 cups, roughly 6 servings)

Plain Base

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar

Gather your ingredients:

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the milk and the cream. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn't form, until tiny bubbles start to form around the edges and the mixture reaches a temperature of 170F.

 It's important when you are using a thermometer to gauge the temperature that you do not rest it on the bottom of the pan, otherwise it will be telling you the temperature of the pot and not the temperature of the contents of the pot. Most come with a clip you can use to suspend the thermometer appropriately.

As your milk and cream heat, you can start whisking the eggs with the sugar. In a medium, heat proof bowl (the heat proof is important for a step that will come along in a bit), whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Gradually whisk in the sugar, until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. I added my sugar in four portions - it was fun to see just how much lighter the egg yolks got with each addition, although I am not sure it photographed well. The mixture certainly got thicker and kind of reminded me of those Peeps marshmallow chicks.

Once the milk on the stove has come up to temperature, temper the egg yolk mixture by adding a little bit of the hot milk to it and whisking it in. You want to do this with almost a continuous whisking motion so that the milk incorporates but doesn't sit still long enough to cook the egg yolk. I added about half the hot milk to the egg mixture and whisked it into a smooth custard before adding the remainder of the hot milk and stirring it all together. Once both components have been fully combined, return the custard to the stove and place over low heat.

Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to prevent a skin from forming, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and it reaches 185F. Do not allow it to boil.

Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let it cool to room temperature, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

To speed the cooling process, you can either set the bowl containing the custard into an ice bath (into a larger pan filled with ice) and stir until cooled; alternatively, I set my bowl into a few inches of cold water in the sink and stirred away, and it worked like a charm.

Once the custard is completely cooled, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Saffron Spice Gelato

Plain Base
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1/4 cup honey
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup roasted pistachios, frozen

A few alterations: I didn't have almond extract, so I substituted hazelnut extract instead. I also omitted the pistachios as I didn't have any on hand, although I think they would be delicious.

Assemble the ingredients:

I initially thought the 1/8th teaspoon measure for the spices wouldn't be enough, but it was. I wouldn't increase those, although I might double the saffron in a future attempt, just to see what happens.

In a small saucepan, warm the milk over medium-low heat until small bubbles start forming around the edge. This doesn't take long - I got distracted during my first attempt and came back too late to find the milk had overcooked onto the bottom of my pot. Which looks like this:

Looks like the moon craters!

Not the goal. On my second attempt, I paid better attention and got it right. Once the milk is warm enough, remove it from the heat and crumble the saffron into it.

Set it aside for ~20 minutes to infuse. You'll end up with creamy yellow milk:

Pour the infused milk through a fine-meshed strainer into a clean bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all of the liquid. Discard the saffron, and refrigerate the infused milk for ~30 minutes, or until cold.

In a blender or food processor, combine half the cold plain base with the chilled saffron-infused milk, honey, nut extract, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and black pepper until smooth.

The lump is the creamed honey I was using, with the spices on it.

Whisk into the remaining base, and then pour the mixture into the container of an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions.

Add the pistachios, if using, 5 minutes before the churning is completed. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. Then lick out the churning bowl. You know you want to.

Yum!

I am thinking of making a fresh mint gelato next, and then a rosemary and olive oil one after that. So much fun!