Basil Olive Oil Ice Cream
This is one of the most decadent ice creams I’ve had in ages. I love unusual flavored ice creams, especially ones that involve fresh herbs. You don’t have to use the olive oil, but it adds an extra richness as well as a fruity aftertaste. It’s worth it.
Ingredients:
- 6 yolks
- 5 oz sugar
- vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- fresh basil (minimum 2 oz)
- basil-infused olive oil (I used Olave)
- optional: green food coloring
Method:
- Quickly blanch basil in boiling water and then move to ice bath to halt the cooking process. Drain and set aside.
- Make créme anglaise: add cream, milk and a splash of vanilla to a saucepan on medium heat. For an incredibly rich ice cream, you can use all heavy cream. Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer.
- While the cream is warming up, whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Make sure they’re well combined.
- When the cream is just starting to simmer (don’t boil it), slowly temper it into the yolks while whisking.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and turn the heat down to medium low. Stir in a figure 8 motion with a wood spoon for several minutes until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat. Continue to stir over an ice bath until cool.
- Puree the basil and cream in a blender. Allow the mixture to infuse for at least an hour in the fridge, then strain the basil cream through a fine mesh strainer into your ice cream machine.
- If using, add a few drops of green food coloring.
- Whisk in the olive oil, 1/4 – 1/2 cup.
- Make ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Sorry there’s no picture of the final product! We were hungry.
