I have fond memories of living in New York City and stopping at Grom, a now-shuttered Italian shop in the West Village, for a scoop of hazelnut gelato. There’s something so perfect about the combination of cream and toasted hazelnuts. Over four years since my last visit to Grom, I recreated a simple, Philadelphia-style version of my favorite treat at home, adapting a recipe from NY Times Cooking. I substituted vanilla extract for Cognac, and switched around the quantities of milk and heavy cream. The original recipe calls for a similar milk-to-cream ratio as gelato (more of the former, less of the latter) but I love how this tastes with a double dose of heavy cream. For a delicious variation, replace hazelnuts with finely ground, toasted cashews.
Hazelnut Vanilla Ice Cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup toasted hazelnuts, skins removed
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
1. Place hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until ground into a creamy paste; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream, milk, and sugar. Simmer over medium-low heat for around 8 minutes. Add vanilla extract, salt, and hazelnut paste. Simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until paste is fully mixed in.
3. Remove pan from heat and chill in an ice bath or in the refrigerator. Once fully cooled down, churn mixture in ice cream machine. Store in a container and freeze for at least 2 hours.
4. Remove from freezer around 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with coarsely chopped hazelnuts and blueberries, if desired.
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