I’ve been thinking a lot about resolutions lately, I guess it comes with the territory in the first few weeks of January. I get the feeling that 2012 will be a year filled with big changes, big adventures and big life decisions, though I don’t want to jinx anything, and I thought I’d share a couple of the things I want to do this year here.
• Read more. I used to read a crazy amount of books but as the last few years have got busier, I have been reading less and less.
• Make more from scratch. I’m usually pretty good at this, but I want to make the effort to make more of my ingredients totally from scratch, like mayonnaise, ricotta, stock, bread etc.
• Waste less. I’m sure I’m not the only one who buys a bunch of herbs for a particular recipe and forgets about the rest until it’s turned to liquid in the crisper drawer! This has to stop, because the food waste statistics are absolutely horrifying.
• Grow my own. Stemming from the last point, I can pick just enough for what I need. Plus it’s so satisfying to be able to go out and pick beautiful fresh herbs and vegetables from the backyard. From the little garden we started in spring, the tomatoes, strawberries and capsicum are going great guns, and the mint is growing wild!
• Document the year. If you follow me on Instagram (username is spicyicecream, of course) you can see the results of my photo-a-day project! I hope to make it past April this time around!
This ice cream was completely made from scratch (check!) using mint that we grew ourselves (check!) in our fancy new red ice cream maker, a Christmas present from the boy's parents. I’ve been interested in making a fresh mint ice cream ever since I saw it on Orangette a few years ago, which was from my favourite ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. The man is a genius, and this ice cream is delicious.
I loved the herbaceous quality of this ice cream, so different (and so much better) than anything artificially flavoured. I ended up using a bit less than the original recipe asked for but it was a surprisingly strong mint flavour. I added a couple of drops of food colouring to get that shade of green but I’ve listed that as optional in the recipe below. The addition of chopped chocolate and a rich chocolate sauce was also fantastic and I know I’ll definitely be making this ice cream again and again.
Fresh Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz
Makes 1 litre
• 1 cup milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup lightly packed mint leaves
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A few drops green food colouring, optional
• 100g chocolate, finely chopped
Warm the milk, sugar and 1 cup of cream, salt and mint in a medium saucepan. Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from the heat, cover and let stand for at least an hour to infuse the mint flavour. Remove the mint with a strainer and then press down with a spatula firmly to extract as much mint flavour as possible, then discard the mint.
Pour the remaining cream and vanilla into a large bowl and set a strainer on top. Rewarm the infused milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and then slowly pour some of the warm mint mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.
Cook custard, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Immediately stain the mixture into the cream, then stir over an ice bath until cool. Add food colouring if using. Refrigerate overnight, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. When almost ready, stir in chopped chocolate, transfer to a container and freeze until firm. Serve with chocolate sauce.
Chocolate Sauce (adapted from Taste)
Note: This recipe will make more than you need, but it will store in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.
• 185ml thickened cream
• 200g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 55g brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place ingredients into a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a metal or wooden spoon until chocolate is almost melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and continue to stir until chocolate melts. Serve warm or transfer to a clean airtight jar or container. Store in the fridge for 3-4 weeks. Serve room temperature or warm.
