Chocolate Mint Gelato Food

CHOCOLATE MINT GELATO

Steps:

• Special equipment needed: ice cream maker.
• Stir together 1/4 cup milk and cornstarch.
• Whisk together sugar, cocoa, and remaining 1 1/2 cups milk in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring. Stir cornstarch mixture again and whisk into chocolate. Return to a boil, whisking, then remove from heat.
• Add mint, a pinch of salt, and half of chocolate to saucepan, stirring.
• Set saucepan in a large bowl of ice water to cool, whisking frequently.
• Freeze chocolate mixture in ice-cream maker. When nearly frozen, add remaining chocolate and churn until blended.

DEEPLY CHOCOLATE GELATO

Steps:

• Heat the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar in a 2-quart saucepan, until the sugar dissolves and the milk starts to simmer. Add the cocoa powder and chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour into a heat-proof measuring cup.
• Place the egg yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and very thick. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the hot chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Pour the egg and chocolate mixture back into the 2-quart saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. A candy thermometer will register about 180 degrees F. Don't allow the mixture to boil!
• Pour the mixture through a sieve into a bowl and stir in the coffee liqueur, vanilla, and salt. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard and chill completely.
• Pour the custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. Stir in the roughly chopped chocolate, if using, and freeze in covered containers. Allow the gelato to thaw slightly before serving.

FRESH MINT CHIP GELATO

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, stir the sugar and cornstarch to blend. Whisk in the cream and milk and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, about 10 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble.
• Transfer the cream mixture to a heatproof bowl and add the mint. Set the bowl over a bowl of ice water to cool the mixture down quickly and stir occasionally until cool; discard the mint after 5 minutes. (Don't steep the mint for too long or it will impart a grassy flavor; a quick steep while the cream cools will do.) Cover the mint cream and refrigerate about 4 hours, or until completely cold.
• Freeze the mint cream in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions until frozen.
• Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, set it over a saucepan of simmering water and stir the chocolate until it has just melted. Remove from the heat and cool until the chocolate is barely warm and still fluid.
• Transfer the gelato to a large bowl set over a bowl of ice. Working quickly, drizzle the melted chocolate into the gelato while whisking or stirring vigorously. The chocolate will flake apart as it hits the cold gelato, forming bits of chocolate throughout. If you prefer larger pieces of chocolate throughout the gelato, use a wooden spoon to slowly stir in the melted chocolate. Serve immediately, or transfer to a container and freeze until firm, 3 to 4 hours.
• Curtis serves his homemade gelato between waffle cookies.

DARK CHOCOLATE MINT GELATO

Steps:

• Bring 2 cups of milk to a simmer.
• Add mint and simmer a few minutes.
• Then, turn off heat and let steep for 30 minutes.
• In another bowl, whisk remaining cup milk with sugar, cocoa powder and cornstarch.
• Strain mint out of the warm milk and bring back to a simmer.
• Add the cocoa mixture slowly, whisking to incorporate.
• Cook until edges bubble and then a minute longer until mixture is slightly thickened.
• Strain through a fine wire mesh strainer.
• Cover with plastic and let sit cool in the fridge overnight or put over a bowl of ice to cool.
• Once cooled, freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

MINT-CHOCOLATE CHIP GELATO

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine milk and 12 sprigs mint. Bring to a gentle boil, cover, and remove pan from heat. Let steep 30 minutes. Strain mixture; reserve milk, and discard solids.
• Combine egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at medium-high speed until very thick and pale yellow, 3 to 5 minutes. Return milk to heat and bring to a simmer.
• Add half of the milk to egg-yolk mixture; whisk until blended. Return new mixture to saucepan with remaining milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
• Remove saucepan from heat; immediately stir in cream. Pass mixture through a sieve set over a medium mixing bowl. Place bowl in ice-water bath, stirring from time to time. Stir in peppermint extract. Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to instructions. Finely chop remaining sprigs of mint. Add mint and chopped chocolate; mix in machine until combined, about 30 seconds. Store in an airtight container.