Dairy-Free Rhubarb Gelato with Easy Strawberry Sauce

5 from 13 votes

Dairy-Free Rhubarb Gelato with Easy Strawberry Sauce

Sweetened only with honey and paired with a simple strawberry sauce, this creamy treat is the perfect way to savor rhubarb while you can.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 319kcal

Author: Don Baiocchi

Equipment

ice cream maker

Ingredients

For the gelato:

¾ pound (12 oz.) fresh rhubarb (if using frozen, see notes)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
5 tablespoons honey, divided
1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
1 cup full-fat unsweetened canned coconut milk
3 egg yolks (freeze the whites to use for something else)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the sauce:

1 lb. strawberries
1½ tablespoons honey

Instructions

For the gelato:

Be sure to freeze your ice cream machine's bowl at least 24 hours in advance, if necessary.
If using fresh rhubarb, trim the ends and slice it crosswise into 1/2" pieces (see notes for frozen rhubarb).
Add rhubarb to a dry, cold, small saucepan with 1/4 tsp. salt. Turn the heat to medium and stir occasionally. When the rhubarb is mushy, stir in 2 tablespoons honey and scrape it all into a blender.
Wipe out the saucepan. Add the almond milk, coconut milk, 3 tablespoons honey and 1/4 tsp. salt to the saucepan and put it over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the honey melts evenly into the milk. Turn off the heat.
Whisk the 3 eggs yolks in a heavy medium bowl. Very carefully, begin to drizzle the warm milk mixture into the bowl as you continue to whisk the yolks. (This will temper the yolks so they come up to the same temperature as the milk; if you combined everything at once the yolks would get scrambled.) Once you've drizzled in about half the milk mixture, pour it all back into the saucepan and whisk until it's all blended.
Place the saucepan over medium/medium-low heat so it just barely simmers. Reduce the custard so it thickens, about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You might see bits of milk but that's okay.
Place a fine-mesh sieve over the blender jar (do not skip this step!) and pour the custard into the blender with the rhubarb. Discard the bits in the sieve. Add the vanilla. Blend the milk and rhubarb until smooth and pour into airtight jars/containers.
Let the rhubarb custard cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until totally cold, about 3 hours but overnight is fine.
Add the chilled custard to your ice cream machine and process per the manufacturer's instructions. You can eat it right away when it's at more of a soft-serve texture. Or freeze until, you know, frozen, about 2-3 hours. (I like to add plastic wrap directly to the surface of the gelato to help keep out air before putting the lid on.) To serve, let sit on the counter for about 10 minutes to soften.

For the sauce:

Hull the strawberries and chop into a medium dice. Add to a bowl and stir in the honey. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes so the strawberries release their juices. If you like, you can quickly blend them for a thicker, chunkier sauce (as seen in the photos). Stir again and pour over the gelato or anything your little heart desires. Makes approx. 2 cups.

Notes

If using frozen rhubarb: add it thawed or unthawed to a dry, cold pan but do not add the salt yet. Turn the heat to medium and once the rhubarb is warm, add the honey and salt and continue to stir occasionally until it's mushy. Proceed with the recipe.

For no-churn rhubarb gelato: once the rhubarb custard is at room temperature, freeze with a layer of plastic wrap directly on the gelato before putting the lid on. Ideally you'll stir it every 60-90 minutes for 2-3 hours if possible but it's fine if you don't. Before serving, let soften on the counter for 30-40 minutes and stir to blend in any ice crystals.

If you don't have almond milk, use one whole can of full-fat coconut milk and add enough water to equal 2 cups. Proceed with the recipe, knowing that the gelato might have a faint coconut flavor. I wouldn't make this if you only have almond milk as the texture will be too thin for gelato or ice cream.

You can replace the honey with raw cane sugar. Increase the amount by 1 tablespoon when adding to the milk mixture (so 4 tablespoons instead of 3).

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