pomegranate chocolate chip gelato

Here's a tip: when you're deciding whether or not to add chocolate to something, I recommend asking your most pregnant friend for her opinion. I can almost guarantee you'll get the answer you're looking for. I took my own advice when deciding whether to make this pomegranate gelato into pomegranate chocolate chip gelato and emailed my seven months pregnant friend Jess for her thoughts. Needless to say, she did not lead me astray. I added quite a bit of dark chocolate and the results were fantastic.

Even better? It was (gasp) healthy! Well, healthy-ish. A few weeks ago the nice people over at POM Wonderful asked if I'd be interested in trying some of their pomegranate juice. I jumped at the chance since I love pomegranates and was actually eating some at the time (true story). The juice, which was used in this recipe, has more antioxidants than a glass of red wine. See, ice cream can be healthy! This one also happens to be sweet, creamy, and delicious.

Pomegranate Chocolate Chip Gelato
Adapted from Gourmet, September 2006
Original recipe available via Epicurious

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups POM juice
2 tablespoons vodka
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2/3 cups dark chocolate chips

Whisk cream, milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking occasionally, and then boil, whisking, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in all remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips. Transfer to a bowl and chill, uncovered, for at least 1 hour. Process in your ice cream maker, adding the chocolate pieces during the last few minutes of churning. Freeze for a couple of hours to harden.