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1
Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until thick and pale lemony yellow but still gritty, about 2 minutes; set aside.
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2
Heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan until small bubbles pop up along the pan's inner rim; adjust the heat to keep the mixture very hot but do not boil.
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3
Whisk about 1/4 of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture until smooth, then whisk this combined mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk mixture.
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4
Immediately decrease heat to very low (if you are using an electric stove, move the pan to a second burner just now set on low).
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5
Cook slowly, stirring constantly, while the mixture thickens to the consistency of smooth, very wet cake batter and can coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 minutes.
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6
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any extraneous bits of cooked egg; stir in the vanilla and salt.
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7
Refrigerate until cold, for at least 4 hours or overnight.
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8
Just before you make the gelato, place the vanilla custard in the freezer, just to assure it is very cold, for no more than 10 minutes.
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9
Freeze the custard in your ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions.
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10
Serve at once (will be soft) or transfer to a large freezer container and store in the freezer, tightly sealed, for up to 1 month; soften at room temperature for up to 10 minutes before serving.
