Pistachio, Strawberry & Vanilla Semifreddo

Line a loaf pan or mold with 2 layers of plastic wrap, making sure you have a generous overhang on all sides. (I used an 11 1/2 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan but a 9 x 5 x 3 inch bread pan will work as well.) You will need 3 medium bowls for each of the 3 next steps. Don’t be tempted to use a smaller bowl because you will be adding whipped eggs and whipped cream to these mixtures later in the recipe.

Grind the pistachios with 2 Tablespoons of sugar in a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Transfer the pistachios to a small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup cream. Bring this to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let it steep for 20 minutes. Then set a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl and strain the mixture, discarding solids. Stir in the almond extract and set the mix aside.

Place remaining 1/2 cup of cream in a separate small saucepan. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and then add the bean pod. Bring to a simmer. Then remove from heat, cover and let this steep for 15-20 minutes. Set a strainer over another medium bowl and strain, discarding bean pod and solids. Chill the vanilla cream mixture in the refrigerator.

Puree the strawberries and 2 Tablespoons of sugar in the food processor until smooth. Set a mesh strainer over another medium bowl and strain, pressing on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the solids, add the vanilla extract, and set the strawberry mix aside.

Whisk the eggs, salt and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a medium metal bowl. Set the bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water, being careful not to allow the bowl to touch the water. With a hand mixer, beat the egg at a high speed until it triples in volume and when a thermometer inserted into the mix registers 170°F. Remove the bowl from the pan and continue to beat until thick and cool, about another 3-5 minutes. Add 1/3 of the egg mixture to each of the three bowls – the pistachio, strawberry, vanilla mixes. Fold each just to blend.

Beat the heavy whipping cream in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Then add 1/3 of the whipped cream to each of the pistachio, strawberry, and vanilla mixtures. Fold each to blend. At this point I added a couple of drops of green food coloring to the pistachio mix. This is optional, but the mix is more brown than green without it. I also added a couple of drops of red food coloring to the strawberry mix to make it a more vivid pink.

Pour the pistachio mix into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Cover and freeze until firm, about 45 minutes. Keep the strawberry and vanilla mixes in the fridge to chill. Next, pour the strawberry mix gently on top of the pistachio layer. Smooth the top and freeze until firm, again, about 45 minutes. Finally pour vanilla mix over strawberry layer, smooth the top and cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze for about 4 hours, till firm.

When ready to serve, uncover the mold and lift out by using the plastic wrap as an aid. No matter how careful you are in smoothing the plastic in the mold, the edges of the semifreddo may have wrinkles and dents. Using a knife, just trim the wrinkles off by cutting a thin slice from all 4 sides. Place on a chilled plate and slice.