Gelato Season!

Peach Gelato

Nutella Gelato

Hey..... if strawberries and asparagus can have their season then I say why not Gelato? This beautiful display of Gelato flavors you see above was around practically every corner in Naples and I could never resist a scoop--I ate a scoop every day-- trying a different flavor out each time, every Gelato stand or Gelaterie has their own unique flavors to boast of. I live in upstate SC where good gelato is hard to come by but the peaches --let me tell you-- Upstate SC has some of the best peaches around, so I took SC's best and used them in a traditional Italian Gelato recipe. I use a regular old cheapy ice cream machine like you get at Walmart for under $20 and it really tastes like the real thing. Which really shouldn't surprise me, after all Italian food is all about the ingredients rather then technique or tools like French cooking and that is why I love it so much!
This recipe is my adaption from Culinaria Italy. I took their basic gelato recipe, which is really kind of vague like all authentic Italian cookbooks, and tweaked it as well as adding more information : )


Ingredients
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups half and half
fruit in season : Such as 3 large peaches,1 cup berries, or  Nutella/see below etc..)

Directions
Puree fruit in blender until smooth.

Beat the eggs with sugar until light and fluffy. I do this in the same pan I will be cooking the mixture using a whisk.
Warm this slowly over low heat, stirring or whisking constantly. It will be ready to add the milk when it thickens up to pale yellow fluffy mixture like zabaglione and it starts to stick to the whisk.
Add 1 cup of the milk/cream and stir until warmed through.
Remove from heat and add the other cup of milk and pureed fruit or Nutella. Stir to combine.
Cool completely and then use your ice cream machine to finish!

SC Markets are filled with baskets of the sweetest juiciest peaches this time of year!

Nutella Gelato:
I used about 2/3 of a 13 ounce jar but you can as much or as little as you like.