Strawberry Gelato

A local fruit and vegetable market had strawberries on sale at $2 for a crate (8 pounds). This is what I made with most of those strawberries. While the recipe indicates use of an ice cream churn, the recipe still produces an excellent gelato without it (though it might be harder to scoop out).

• Ready In: 4 hrs
• Serves: 20

Ingredients

• 2  lbs strawberries (weight after removing stems)
• 2  cups white sugar
• 4  tablespoons lemon juice
• 2  cups half-and-half

Directions

1. Cut stems and non-red parts from strawberries and discard. Cut strawberries into quarters.
2. Mix strawberries with sugar and lemon juice to coat fully. Allow to rest at room temperature for half an hour (this process macerates the strawberries to draw more flavor out of them).
3. Transfer strawberry mixture to a food processor. Puree with 1 cup of half-and-half. Transfer to a plastic container with a lid and repeat for the remaining strawberries and half-and-half.
4. Move container of strawberry mixture to freezer and freeze for at least 4 hours, stirring every hour to scrape gelato from edges of container. Continue freezing until it reaches desired consistency. Churn in an ice cream mixer in batches for a few minutes at a time then serve.