Get Lilia's dubiously delicious "Italian Job" Gelato recipe
just one scoop can waylay a Mafia Mobster's most nefarious plottings
Today’s recipe comes from one of my favorite restaurants — Lilia — an institution of wood-fired Italian cookery ranked NYC’s 17th best restaurant by The New York Times in 2023.
This recipe is called the “Italian Job,” possibly named for its capacity to waylay the plottings of even the most nefarious Mafia mobsters, in favor of a scoop.
It’s vanilla soft serve ice cream, sprinkled with floral fennel pollen, olive oil, honey and flaky sea salt. With spare reservations to Lilia few and far between, the silver lining is that this recipe is gobsmackingly simple to make at home. Here’s how:
Recipe difficulty rating: beginner
Song pairing: Boogie Shoes - 2004 Remaster by KC & The Sunshine Band1
Ingredients: (serving size: 1)
1/2 pint vanilla soft serve (or any vanilla ice cream of your choosing)
2+ tbsp drizzle of olive oil (use Polifemo brand for best results)
1 tbsp drizzle of honey (ideally at a drizzle-able viscosity)
pinch of flaky sea salt
2-3 generous pinches of fennel pollen
Where to buy ingredients:
If you’re in NYC, Misipasta in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has everything you need. In Manhattan, Kalustyan’s and Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria also stock fennel pollen.
Cooking Appliances:
freezer, to store ice cream until you’re ready to raid said freezer like the Mafia Mobster you always knew you were, deep down
Instructions:
Scoop the vanilla ice cream into a cup. In a circular motion, drizzle the top of the ice cream with olive oil, then with honey. Sprinkle with fennel pollen and then with flaky sea salt. Consult video above for a tutorial.
What recipes are you excited to cook and eat this summer? Leave a comment down below and introduce yourself — I’m eager to connect!
for fun, I pair each recipe with a song it reminds me of. What song does this recipe bring to mind for you? Let me know in the comments
Inspired to do a paid subscription. Bravo 👏
F@ck. This is amazing on two counts:
1-It looks delicious
2-Justifies owning fennel pollen
🥰