It’s strawberry season here now! The first thing we made with our piles of fresh berries was this strawberry gelato, which has become a summer tradition. I’m not sure what makes this recipe gelato (vs regular ice cream), but I know it’s absolutely delicious. It’s also one of the easier ice cream recipes I’ve made.

Don’t skip the step of straining the strawberries to get all the seeds out, it makes it much creamier/smoother. I’ve used both fresh picked strawberries and ones that we’ve frozen first. Just make sure whatever you use is really ripe for the best flavor.

Fresh Strawberry Gelato

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sliced very ripe, fresh strawberries

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in the milk and whipping cream.
2. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble and thickens, 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
3. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cool completely (either by pressing plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerating or nesting the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice and stirring until it is cool to the touch).
4. Puree the strawberries in a blender until the mixture is very smooth.
5. Once the gelato base has cooled completely, strain the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the creamy mixture. Use a rubber spatula or the back of a large spoon to press the strawberry puree through the strainer so all the pretty strawberry liquid gets strained into the gelato but the seeds are left behind. Stir well.
6. Cover the gelato by pressing plastic wrap directly on the surface. Refrigerate 3 hours or up 24 hours.
7. Process the gelato in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. Scrape the ice cream into a container, cover and freeze for at least two hours or longer before serving.

Adapted from Epicurious via Mel’s Kitchen Cafe