Strawberry Gelato

Look at that bucket of berries.

Insanity, right?

Well we had two of those buckets filled to the brim last week.  All picked by the Boy and I in about an hour.  It was literally back breakin' or should I say back achin' work.  Strawberry picking is one of those things that should maybe be reserved for kids.  The unfortunate thing is that we love them.  And there is nothing, I mean nothing like the taste of a warm sun-ripened berry.  It has to be one of my favorite tastes of summer.

We went berry picking with the understanding that we'd freeze a bunch and I'd make jam with a bunch.  As it often does, life got in the way and it took those poor berries sitting in a cooler for two days before I was able to make much headway with them.  It wasn't ideal and since they got a bit soft we opted against freezing.  So that meant a whole lotta jam, a pie and I still had a bit leftover to play with.

Here's the thing I pretty much love ice cream, gelato, sorbet, frozen yogurt, all of it.  I would move into our local ice cream shop, Ed's Real Scoop, if they'd have me.  But there is one flavor I've never quite gotten my head around.  It's pretty silly actually since it's the most basic, straightforward flavor and I LOVE the fruit it comes from.  I know it's pretty obvious, since this entire post is about strawberries, but the flavor of ice cream I'm so not a fan of is strawberry.

So why, you ask, am I sharing a recipe with you for strawberry gelato?  It happens to be the boy's fave on one of two flavors he alternates between when we go for ice cream.  Since he helped with the berries, and, truth be told, picked better berries than I did, I thought he deserved a treat.

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Strawberry Gelato

by adapted from Bon Appetit July-6-2011

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 1/4 cups strawberries - sliced & hulled
• 2 Tbsps triple sec

Instructions

1. In a heavy medium saucepan stir sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in milk and cream. Place the pot over medium heat and whisk until gelato base thickens and begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Pour into bowl placed over an ice bath. Stir occasionally to cool about 30 minutes.2. Puree strawberries in food processor. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and add to gelato base. Mix in triple sec, cover and place in the fridge to chill for 3 hours. Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to container. Cover; freeze until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.

Details

Prep time: 35 mins Cook time: 5 hour Total time: 4 hour Yield: 1 quart