Ice Cream Escapades ~ Glace à la Basilic

   

"A man taking basil from a woman will love her always." -Sir Thomas Moore

So where is Sir Thomas Moore when you need him? ;-)  Yes my friends, you read right...Glace à la Basilic or Basil Ice Cream...and it was darn good considering it was my maiden voyage!  I know you are thinking "YUK! Basil belongs in pasta or a caprese (tomato mozzarella) salad or a pizza but not under any circumstances does it belong in ice cream!" I would have no doubt agreed...until now....

My source of inspiration for this savory wonder came from a dessert I had not too long ago at Le Pré Verre, a bistro du vin in my hood. Fraises mariné au persil (strawberries marinated in parsley - pictured to the left) with, you guessed it, parsley ice cream! 

Also, a huge bunch of deliciously aromatic basil permeated the kitchen as soon as I returned from the market.  I only needed half of it for that evening’s dinner and was contemplating what to do with the other half when that little lightbulb over my head illuminated, then whacked me on the head exclaiming “Freeze me you idiot! And you call yourself a chef?!” I don't call myself a chef but that's another story. So I chopped the remaining leaves, plugged in my new best friend, Monsieur Krups, and let’er rip.… an hour later, voila, glace à la basilic!

Here is the recipe for vanilla ice cream. I used this as the base for the fig ice cream yesterday then just added chopped fig as the mixture was churning. For basil (or savory) ice cream (pictured to the right), I recommend leaving out the vanilla bean as it makes it a bit too sweet. If you want the ice cream to really take on the color of the herb or whatever you are adding (as it is above with the parsley), let it steep in the milk/cream mixture at the start (see step 1. below).

Glace à la Vanille or Good ‘Ol Vanilla Ice Cream

*this recipe makes double the amount I can use at one time in my little ice cream machine so I just press some plastic wrap directly on the surface (so no skin forms) and chill until ready to freeze.  This is the traditional French recipe but I think next time I will take Stephanie’s recommendation and try Alton Brown’s mad scientist recipe.

- 500 ml (approx 18 oz) milk
- 500 ml (approx 18 oz) cream
- 8 egg yolks (10/4/05 UPDATE: I've lowered this to 4-5 eggs
       depending on the size. thanks David!)
- 200 g (approx 7 oz) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, all put into pot

1. Put milk, cream and vanilla bean into a cold pot and place it on the stove.

2. Bring this mixture to a boil and remove from heat. Set aside and let cool.

3. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a non-reactive bowl until it is pale yellow. this is called “blanchir” or to whiten.

4. slowly add the hot milk/cream mixture to the yolks/sugar mixture, stirring constantly.

5. Pour this mixture back into the pot and return to the stove top. Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly, making sure you scrape the inside corners of the pot.

6. The cream is ready when it is “nappant” or naps the back of the spoon. Run your finger down the back of a spoon and if the mixture doesn’t fill in, it is ready. The picture below is an example of “nappant”.

7. Strain through a chinois (fine strainer) into an ice bath or a bowl set over another bowl of ice. Stir the mixture - this will cool it down quickly.

8. When the mixture is room temp, add it to the ice cream machine and let’er rip!

*note: I added the chopped basil to the mixture after it was in the ice cream machine but if you want it to take on the same color, add it in step 1.

Bon appetit!

-an example of "nappant"

Comments

[Alicat]

My goodness girl! You've been up to trouble again! ;) Everything looks and sounds delicious, as always! I admire your courageousness with your savory ice cream!

Great blogging always!

[Brett]

Sounds scrumptious, but inquiring minds are dying to know. With what did you serve your basil ice cream?

[laura @ cucina testa rossa]

Hi Brett! I confess, I didn't serve it with anything, i just handed my friends a spoon and the container and said have at it. perhaps strawberries would work as it does with the parsley ice cream. i bet it would go well with peaches or nectarines! even grilled peaches! maybe a roasted tomato served at room temp? i'll do some experiments and get back to you on this! i LOVE my new ice cream maker! :-) it's the little things in life...

[Joseph A. di Paolantonio]

Ah, basil ice cream. That brings me back to... well, before my time. The first ice creams were as likely to be savories as sweets. Just please don't make Gilroy-style garlic ice cream.

I have had pecorino ice cream, not sweet. I'm afraid that I can't remember where or with what it was served.

Hmm, so take your basil ice cream, the Gilroy Garlic, and the pecorino; add pignoli... pesto ice cream. Maybe not.

My favorite is chestnut gelato. Let me know if you ever make some. :p

[laura @ cucina testa rossa]

hi joe! no worries, i had garlic ice cream at the stinking rose years ago and almost hurled. and i'll save the pesto for pasta ;-) but as we learned in hi-tech, never say never...

[sylvia tidwell]

Hi, I had the parsley ice cream with strawberries at Le Pre Verre this summer. Wonderful. To make it using your vanilla ice cream recipe, how much parsely would you use? Also, do you have a suggestion for preparing the strawberries. And what ice cream make do you have that you love so much? (I need to buy one).
Thanks, Sylvia

[sylvia tidwell]

Hi, I had the parsley ice cream with strawberries at Le Pre Verre this summer. Wonderful. To make it using your vanilla ice cream recipe, how much parsely would you use? Also, do you have a suggestion for preparing the strawberries. And what ice cream make do you have that you love so much? (I need to buy one).
Thanks, Sylvia