Sunday 12 June 2011

Gelato al limone ( Fresh Lemon Juice Ice-Cream... buonissimo! )

"Summer wouldn't be Summer without ice-cream!" When I was growing up, in Italy, we would keep really big tubs of it in the freezer. My father had three loves in life: his wife and kids, rum baba` and ice cream! I remember finding him in the kitchen, one lazy Summer afternoon, eating ice cream from the tub. He looked like a naughty little kid, my poor babbo! He really loved ice-cream!
Did you know that Italians only eat ice cream in Winter? When we were in Italy, in April, my husband went to Caffe` Roma, as he so wanted to taste his favourite granita al limone (lemon sorbet) but was very disappointed when signora Maria told him that the machine was still switched off! Not warm enough yet!
So... I set myself a challenge: I will try to make lemon sorbet or ice cream which tastes better than Caffe` Roma's! I found a recipe for Lemon Ice-cream, and one obvious and easy one for Granita al limone (Lemon Ice) which I will show you later.
Here is how I made my lemon ice-cream:
Gelato al Limone
(Lemon Ice-Cream)

4-6 servings
Ingredients:
200g (7 oz) sugar
125 ml (4 1/2 fl oz) lemon juice
( about 7 large lemons)
125 ml (4 1/2 fl oz) milk
230 ml (8 fl oz) water
pinch of salt
2 egg whites
Fresh Fruit
Before you start, prepare all your ingredients. Squeeze the lemons, to obtain the right amount of juice. Next, place water, salt and most of the sugar  (160 g - about 5 1/2 oz) in a pan.
 Heat for about five minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat and add lemon juice and milk. I was surprised at this stage, as I thought I was going to end up making ricotta, but no... the liquids really blended well!
This mixture needs to be frozen, once cool, for as long as it takes for it to become ice ( about three hours.) I kept stirring mine, as I wanted it to be soft. Anyway! When this mixture is frozen, whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl.




 Now begin to gradually add the rest of the sugar, until you get a lovely, soft meringue like texture ( this tastes so incredibly silky!)
Break up the icy mixture from the freezer, then fold in the "meringue" until you get something which is beginning to look like ice cream. This has to be frozen for a while longer before being consumed. Again, I kept stirring mine and the result was molto, molto buono... Very good: a cross between ice-cream and sorbet. Just lovely for a sunny afternoon, with the addition of blueberries and just a few little alpine strawberries from the garden!
I love the little strawberries!
 

2 comments:

  1. I have a c.d., I have forgotten who the singer is, but he sings 'gelato al limone' and it has stuck in my head ever since. He is Italian and a little eccentic! I have to make this too mmmm mmmmm yummy! Oh Paulo someone....you'll know! Sorry I've been a little behind with my reading. Lots of love to you Anna, oh and your photography is beautiful. Linda x

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  2. Thank. Linda!
    I think the singer you mention might be Paolo Conte.
    PS: ALL Italians are a bit eccentric and creative... some more eccentric than others!

    ANNA

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