The bounty of fresh local strawberries naturally leads to discovering new recipes for this delicious fruit.
Gelato is a refreshing, cool treat for warm spring and summer days, and is not difficult to make with a gelato machine. The following recipe makes about four cups of strawberry gelato. Since the mixture needs to chill several hours or overnight, preparing the mixture a day ahead makes the actual gelato-making process quick, with minimum clean-up.
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup whole milk
3/4 to 1 cup heavy whipping cream*
2 1/4 cups sliced and hulled strawberries
2 Tbsp. pomegranate juice (for color) or lemon juice**
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
Stir 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in a heavy medium saucepan.
Whisk in milk and cream. Whisk over medium heat until gelato base thickens and begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Keep whisking so the mixture does not stick.
Pour into bowl. Cool over ice, stirring occasionally
Puree strawberries in a food processor, with 1/4 cup sugar.
Strain into gelato base (if you do not want seeds).***
Mix in pomegranate juice or lemon juice.
Stir well, cover, and chill 3 hours or overnight or longer.
Process in gelato maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Gelato can be served immediately or transferred to a container until firm. Thaw about 15 minutes before serving.
*Note 1: I experimented with adding a little more whipping cream, and the mixture was a bit creamier without making the mixture too runny.
*Note 2: The mixture is very “strawberry colored” already, so I did not add the pomegranate juice, but I did add the lemon juice.
**Note 3: I did not strain the puree.
Enjoy!
Photograph by Molly Grogan Rawls.
