Strawberry Rhubarb ice cream
So it's been a long while since I posted anything here. A few months ago, we moved from our condo in the city to a house in the country. Turns out that when you live in the country, it's nearly impossible to bring yourself to spend beautiful summer days sitting inside in front of a computer. It also turns out that in addition to cooking all the food, we decided we would try our hands at growing all the food, too. Heads up: growing your own food is an amazing but also slightly obsessive thing that keeps you outside at all hours of the day and night checking on random, mundane things like soil erosion. It's crazy - I know.
BUT, the payoff of all that obsession, clean air and sunshine is the food - in this case, ice cream made from my own, organically grown outside my front door, strawberries and rhubarb. I don't know why there is no commercially produced strawberry rhubarb ice cream but there definitely should be. This ice cream is tangy tart from the rhubarb, sweet from fresh strawberries and has a touch of floral aroma from a little bit of honey. It is creamy and delicious, made with only a handful of fresh ingredients, and tastes truly like summer in a bowl.
One thing to note: this recipe is designed to be made in an ice cream maker.
Ingredients
1.5 cups fresh rhubarb - chopped
1.5 cups ripe strawberries - halved
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups whole milk
1 cup half and half
4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
Method
1. in a saucepan, combine strawberries, rhubarb, honey, lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat. bring to a boil and simmer until mixture is thick and jam like - approximately 10 minutes. cool completely in the refrigerator.
2. combine milk, half and half and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat until scalded. do not allow the mixture to boil.
3. in a heat proof mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until pale and thick. slowly add hot milk mixture one ladle at a time, whisking vigorously to prevent curdling.
4. place the egg mixture over a double boiler and whisk constantly, over low heat, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. remove from the heat and cool completely and then place the refrigerator until very cold - 6-8 hours.
5. fold strawberry rhubarb mixture into the cold cream mixture, pour into the chilled ice cream machine drum and churn according to manufacturer's instructons.
6. when ice cream has churned, place in a freezer proof container and freeze until set - 3-4 hours - or until you're ready to serve.