Olive Oil Gelato
After chilling the featherweight custard you whisk in the olive oil, emulsifying it and creating a thick, glossy mixture.
Pour it into an ice cream maker. I have a heavy duty one from years ago when I was working on an ice cream story for the Times.
Note the butter yellow color. This will soon change, as the machine whips air into the gelato.
Ta-da! Pale and lovely gelato, at mid-churn.
Merrill and I tasting the gelato and discussing whether or not the olive oil amount is correct.
Hillocks of gelato.
Freezer time!
Like a pearl in an oyster shell.
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Author Notes: The apotheosis of Mario Batali's cooking and the Mediterranean diet is, in my dessert-loving view, the olive oil gelato at Otto. It's as smooth as aioli, pulsing with green olive flavor, and has sugar and salt dueling in the background.
As I fumbled through my cookbooks, I came across another version in Ice Creams, Sorbets & Gelati by Robin and Caroline Weir.
The Weirs are the foremost authorities on frozen desserts, and this book is the culmination of all of their research. And yet, I was also skeptical of their recipe, which calls for water in the custard, no cream or salt, and a whole lot of olive oil.
After chilling it overnight I whisked in olive oil to taste. The custard drank the oil like a good, dense mayonnaise, getting thicker and smoother with each stroke of the whisk. But after 6 tablespoons of oil -- the Weirs call for 12 -- I called it quits, and churned the gelato as is.
- amanda
Serves 2 to 4
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
- 3/4 cups whole milk
- Large pinch salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
- In a medium-size saucepan stir together the sugar, water, milk, and salt and heat until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks until frothy. Continue beating whilst pouring in the combined liquids in a thin stream, then return the mixture to the pan. Carry on stirring with the pan over a low to moderate heat until the custard thickens to a loose custard sauce consistency or reaches 185 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. (Take your time and take the pan off the heat, if needed, because you don't want to scramble the egg). Immediately pour the custard into a bowl and set the bowl in an ice water bath. Stir until the mixture is cool. Transfer to a lidded container, and refrigerate overnight.
- Whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil in a thin steady stream -- the mixture should thicken and turn smooth. Taste the mixture and decide if you want to add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil -- the oil flavor will become more prominent as the ice cream ages, so keep this in mind. Churn in an ice cream maker following manufacturer's instructions. Eat right away, or transfer to a container and freeze until ready to eat.
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3 months ago Asuysal
This would be great with a really rich, bitter brownie!
3 months ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
great idea!
9 months ago Erin Powell
I just made the base and it's very sweet. Is the 2 parts total liquid to 1 part sugar correct? Or am I missing something? Thanks.
8 months ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
You're right -- it is quite sweet, but tastes less so once frozen. You can cut back on the sugar in the recipe, but sounds like it's too late for this batch. How did it turn out?
over 1 year ago Monica Little
What kind of olive oil did you use for this? Is there a specific type and/or brand you recommend?
over 1 year ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
I'd use a mild fruity olive oil. The one in the photo was made with a fairly robust flavored oil -- Frantoia.
over 1 year ago Monica Little
Thank you so much for your quick response! :) Can't wait to make it.
over 1 year ago RaquelG
I've been pondering the question of what would best accompany this gelato while preparing my home for the onslaught of Hurricane Irene (what better to keep one's mind from impending doom than dessert?) and came upon the idea of lemon-thyme pound cake. Apparently, Martha Stewart had already come up with it:
http://www.marthastewart...
over 1 year ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Ah! Good idea. I was going to suggest a cookie that's not too sweet, and maybe even a little salty.
over 1 year ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Mmmm, I love the idea of something on the salty side with this. It's unbelievably fantastic, while pretty intense. Salty would be just the thing. Even salty chocolate chip cookies.
over 1 year ago RaquelG
Amanda, would you have suggestions as to what pastry or baked goods one might serve with this gelato?
almost 2 years ago Meatballs&Milkshakes
I'm interested to try this recipe after the problems I had with Mario Batali's recipe. For some reason, and I assume it's my ice cream maker's fault, I just couldn't get it to freeze. Even now, weeks later, it's really just a custard sitting in the freezer. Hopefully this version will work better in my ice cream maker....
almost 2 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Have you successfully made other ice creams in your ice cream maker? If so, how interesting. Let me know how things go with this version.
about 2 years ago Nancyjenkins
Amanda, I'm curious if you've tried this recipe with other olive oils. There's so little oil in it that I don't see how you get a mild olive oil flavor to come through past all the sugar. Have you tried it with a stronger, fruitier oil? It would be really interesting to experiment with three different oils, say one from Sicily (the Frantoia Barbera you've used), maybe one from Tuscany with more aggressive flavors, and maybe an arbequina from Catalonia with its pronounced nuttiness (at least to my palate). Any time you do that, invite me to a tasting!
Nancy
about 2 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
I didn't try it with other oils. And I know it seems like very little oil, but oddly enough, after this sat for a day, I thought this amount of this kind of oil was probably a little bit too strong.
about 2 years ago aussiefoodie
I just couldn't get this to go as white, or as fluffy looking as the photo. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?
about 2 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Your olive oil might be darker so I wouldn't worry too much about the color. What kind of ice cream maker do you have?
about 2 years ago KirstenW
I heard you can drizzle a fruity olive oil over the top, return it to the freezer, and the oil turns into a 'magic shell' coating....sprinkle with sea salt and a few chocolate shavings and you are good to go! Am going to try it, definitely.
about 2 years ago pauljoseph
looks Beautiful
about 2 years ago sdunleavy
I'm so excited to try this. I fell in love with batali's olive oil gelato when I had it over christmas. Can't wait to experiment!
about 2 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
I think it would be great with chocolate.
about 2 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Oops! Replied to the wrong comment. Thanks -- and hope you enjoy it!
about 2 years ago the musician, who cooks
One of my favorite gelato flavors. I had black pepper olive oil gelato at Paciugo once, along with a scoop of some kind of sea salt gelato, might've been caramel sea salt. Thanks for posting this recipe! I wonder how it would fare if you added chocolate, as I've seen a chocolate extra-virgin olive oil flavor on Paciugo's gelato flavor list as well. Perhaps use a stronger extra-virgin olive oil?
about 2 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
I think it would be great with chocolate.
about 2 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
whoa, this looks fab.
about 2 years ago Sadassa_Ulna
Beautiful photo!
about 2 years ago WinnieAb
This sounds REALLY interesting. Like a sweet and yummy cold version of mayo ;)
about 2 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Funny -- I was thinking of describing it as frozen mayo but was concerned some people would find that gross. Glad you don't!
about 2 years ago WinnieAb
No don't find it gross at all. I am a huge fan of homemade mayo with olive oil.
about 2 years ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
Yum! What a crazy-good idea. Yet another fine use for good quality olive oil. Do you use extra virgin or something milder?
about 2 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
It's in my blog (coming out in the morning!) -- Frantoia, which isn't super strong but is extra virgin. I'd err on the mild side.
about 2 years ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
some of us weren't born with patience!
about 2 years ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Ohhhhhhhhh - the texture on the palate must be like silk. I'm going to fire up the IC maker this weekend!
about 2 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
It has great texture -- the oil is magical!