Sage Ice Cream

It’s probably not the right time to be posting recipes about ice cream, but I’m going to do it anyway because it’s so easy if you have an ice cream maker. Now, to me an ice cream maker is one of those things you register for when you get married. I’m not on that path so I had to borrow one from someone who recently tied the knot. I must say that it will be my next purchase as soon as I have my own kitchen space. (Of course that’s what I said before I got the three Le Creusets, the tagine and the bamboo steamer.)

Sage came up as a possible pairing for our pumpkin-squash Supper theme last month. The herb itself is so fragrant that in ice cream form, it overpowered the cake and chips I wanted to match it with. In the end, we served a more subtle pumpkin ice cream to complete a last course we called Trio of Pumpkin, and now I have a whole tub of sage ice cream sitting in the freezer reserved for those quiet nights indoors.

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups half-and-half
1/3 cup fresh sage, coarsely chopped
4 large strips of lemon zest, peeled using a peeler
9 egg yolks
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt

1. In a heavy saucepan, bring cream, half-and-half, sage and zest to a boil over moderate heat. Remove from heat and cover the pot for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together yolks, granulated sugar and salt in a large bowl. Pour in half of the hot cream and whisk to combine. Transfer to the saucepan to combine with the remaining hot cream. This is your custard.
3. Cook custard over moderate heat while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Do not let it boil. After about 5 minutes, the custard should be thick enough to cover the back of your spoon.
4. Pour custard through a fine sieve into a bowl and let cool in room temperature, stirring occasionally. Cover with Saran wrap and store in the refrigerator until cold, at least 1 hour.
5. Using an ice cream maker, pour in chilled custard and churn, following manufacturer’s instructions. Mine took about 20 minutes. Scoop out of ice cream maker and transfer to a resealable plastic container and put in freezer to harden.

Related post/s:
October Supper with Strangers photos on Flickr
Use up your leftover sage with chicken