Adapted from Gourmet Today
Makes
about 5 cups
40 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time,
plus several hours for chilling
1/2
vanilla bean
3 1/2 cups whole milk
pinch of salt
1/2 cup plus 2
tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1
1/2 cups fresh mulberries
Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and put them, the vanilla bean pod, and the milk in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately remove the pot from the heat. Remove the vanilla bean pod.
Whisk the 1/2 cup of sugar and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the milk mixture to the cornstarch and mix until it is smooth. Then add the cornstarch-milk mixture back into the saucepan. Return the saucepan to the stove, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour it though a strainer into a heat-proof bowl. The straining might seem to be a bit fussy but it only takes a couple of extra minutes and will result in a creamier gelato. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has cooled, about an hour. Then cover the bowl and refrigerate until very cold, about 3 hours.
While the mixture is cooling, prepare the mulberries. Remove the stems and reserve a few mulberries for decoration if you like. Add the mulberries and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar to the bowl of a blender or food processor. Let the mixture sit for at least half an hour and then pour it through a sieve. Again, this straining will be quick and will be worth it in the end.
When the milk mixture has cooled, stir in the mulberry juice. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to the instructions of your ice cream maker. When it has finished, transfer it to an air-tight container and freeze for at least 2 hours.