Stracciatella Gelato

Attraversiamo. Italian for “let’s cross over”. While in Italy, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with this phrase. She also fell in love with gelato, a fact that was glossed over in the movie version of Eat, Pray, Love. But her love for gelato is more pronounced in the book, where she muses that gelato is so popular that it’s even acceptable to eat it before lunch. Now THAT is a country where I’d fit right in! When I visited Italy, I fell in love with the word stracciatella, and the gelato flavor of the same name. Elizabeth Gilbert’s story inspired me to create my favorite gelato flavor at home.

Stracciatella gelato is similar in theory to chocolate chip ice cream, but much different. Gelato contains less air and a lower fat content than American ice cream, which gives it a smoother texture. Instead of adding chocolate chips to the vanilla gelato base, stracciatella calls for melted chocolate to be drizzled into the ice cream after it has been churned, which creates delicate strands of chocolate throughout the gelato.

I wasn’t too impressed with the movie, but after a bowl or two of stracciatella gelato, it was only a distant memory. I agree with Roger Ebert’s opinion that Eat, Pray, Love depicts the author’s narcissistic trek around the world, funded by a book advance. I read the book before watching the movie, and I really enjoyed it. Gilbert’s writing style is quite witty. I was looking forward to seeing the movie until about 5 minutes in, when I realized that it wasn’t going to come close to the entertainment value of the book. I do recommend the book but the movie was quite boring. The characters were lacking the depth that they had in the book, and many scenes from the book that I felt were crucial to the story were missing from the movie. Don’t bother with the movie, read the book instead. And definitely make yourself a bowl of stracciatella gelato.

There was plenty of fodder for food inspiration in this movie, which made it a perfect choice for the January 2012 Food ‘n Flix event. This month’s roundup will be posted at the end of the month at The Law Student’s Cookbook.

Stracciatella Gelato
Adapted from The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto
Yield: About one quart

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Combine the milk and cream in a heavy bottom saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a temperature of 170°F.

While the milk is heating, whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl until smooth. Add the sugar and whisk until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. When the milk mixture has reached the correct temperature, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and continue to heat over medium heat, stirring frequently. When the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon and has reached a temperature of 185°, remove it from the heat.

Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Allow it to sit at room temperature until it has completely cooled, stirring every 5 minutes or so. If you’d like to cool the custard faster, place the bowl into an ice bath and stir until cooled. When the custard has cooled, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Once the custard has been chilled, whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour the custard into your ice cream maker and churn according to the instructions.

While the ice cream is churning, place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the surface of the water. Stir the chocolate until it has just melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and allow it to cool until it is just slightly warm (about 100°F).

As soon as the gelato has finished churning, drizzle the chocolate in a thin stream over the top. Use a rubber spatula to fold it into the gelato. Transfer the gelato to a freezer container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.