When we decided to take on the challenge of making real Italian gelato for the restaurants, olive oil was the first flavor I knew I wanted to make. It’s one of the most talked-about and raved-about flavors at Mario and Joe’s pizzeria, Otto, in New York. Plus, I love the flavor of olive oil so much that there was no way I would pass up an opportunity to use it in a dessert. The olive oil isn’t even cooked here, so you’ll really taste the flavor. Pull out all the stops when choosing the olive oil—and use olio nuovo when it’s available.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 1 quart
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Fill a large bowl with ice water and set a smaller bowl inside. Set a fine-mesh strainer in the smaller bowl. Whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together in a medium bowl. Combine the milk, sugar, milk powder, corn syrup, and salt in a medium (4-quart) saucepan and whisk to break up and dissolve the milk powder. Heat the milk mixture over high heat until it begins to bubble and immediately turn off the heat. Slowly add 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture to the bowl with the eggs, whisking constantly as you add it. Continue to add the milk 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly, until you have added about half of the milk, or enough to warm the eggs slightly. Pour the egg and milk mixture into the pot with the milk, return the pot to medium-low heat, and cook, stirring constantly with the whisk or a wooden spoon, until the gelato base thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Step 2
Pour the gelato base through the strainer into the bowl set over the ice water and set aside to cool to room temperature. Transfer the base to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least several hours and up to three days.
Step 3
Remove the base from the refrigerator, pour it into a bowl, and stir in the cream and olive oil. Pour the base into the bowl of an ice cream or gelato maker and spin it according to the machine instructions. Serve the gelato straight from the maker or transfer it to an airtight container and place it in the freezer until you’re ready to serve it. Serve the gelato within a few hours of spinning it, before it hardens.
