Nº 19: Plotting

and a plant-based pistachio ice cream

Howdy.

I wanted to send you a quick message to let you know that I’ll be using August to plan the next six months of Formal Assignments (and to get some completed).

I’d feel guilty sending just that message, so I’m also including a recipe below (for paid subscribers). Dovetailing off of the whole-grain fiori di latte I made for my recent piece (“Getting Freekeh in the Freezer” *, a title for which, to be honest, I was expecting a lot more acclamation than I received), this ice cream could be called “fior di pistacchio”; just as fior di latte puts all of the attention on the flavor of milk and cream, the recipe below puts a spotlight on pistachios. So much so that it doesn’t even let dairy get in the way and lets the pistachios, blended with water to form a liquid, do the work typically done by cow’s milk and cream.

Enjoy your August. I’ll get back to you in September with lots to share.

Talk to you then. (In the meantime, if there are any burning questions or topics you’d like me to look into, please let me know.) Thank you for reading this.

Brian

P.S. Remember to scroll down for the recipe.

*Formal Assignment P.S. is for paid subscribers. It’s just $5 a month—or even less for an annual subscription.

Planning the next six months’ Formal Assignments

PISTASHIO ICE CREAM (PLANT-BASED)

(Fior di Latte-inspired Ice Cream without Eggs or Dairy)

I’m not going to lie: this recipe takes a little work with your hands and requires a nut milk bag (or an extremely fine-meshed strainer, or several layers of cheesecloth) to obtain its incredibly satiny texture (I made it once strained through a regular chinois and it was just too gritty). But if you’re a pistachio (and frozen dessert) lover like me, it’s well worth it. Here’s the organic cotton nut milk bag I use.

Yield: about 2 pints (1 liter)
Active time: 40 minutes
Total time: 2 hours 30 minutes (for soft serve) or 6+ hours (for firmer ice cream)

Fior di pistacchio.

INGREDIENTS: