La Grotta Ices by Kitty Travers

Author:Kitty Travers
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473546554
Publisher: Random House

Note – as well as being packed full of vitamins, blueberries are high in natural pectin, which has an amazing jelling effect on an ice cream custard; you will notice that it thickens this recipe almost to the point of setting it.

You can use this tip and try adding a few blueberries to more watery fruit ice creams and sorbet bases to help their texture considerably without affecting the flavour much.

One of my earliest smell memories is being on a farm in Devon picking blackcurrants, aged about three, standing on the red earth and swishing the leaves, releasing fumes of their intoxicating white acid drop fragrance – so odd and so different to the taste of the fresh currants. It’s good – like the way sweet, fruity tomatoes and the green smell of their stalks magnify each other’s best qualities. If only somebody would make a perfume of this and stop me having to slather ice cream behind my ears every day.

If you are lucky enough to grow blackcurrants, adding a few leaves to the custard base of this recipe elevates it to a different level. In any case the flavour of this ice cream is supernatural. The low water content and high amount of pectin in the currants contribute to a very well behaved ice cream: rich, smooth and custardy but tangy too, and deep magenta pink.

250 ml whole milk

250 ml double cream

Pinch of sea salt

5 – 6 large fresh blackcurrant leaves, washed (optional)

280 g blackcurrants

3 egg yolks

160 g sugar

1. To prepare the ice cream: heat the milk, cream and salt together. As soon as the liquid reaches a simmer, stir in the blackcurrant leaves to submerge. Remove from the heat, cover the pan with cling film and leave to infuse for 30 minutes in a sink of iced water.

2. Meanwhile, rinse the blackcurrants and pick them from their stalks. The best way to cook them is very lightly in a microwave: add 2 tablespoons of water, cover the bowl with cling film and zap them for a couple of minutes. Otherwise simmer them very gently in a non-reactive pan just until they are tender and bursting (do not boil). Cool in a sink of iced water and once cold, cover and chill in the fridge.

3. Strain the now fragrant milk and cream mixture into a clean non-reactive pan and bring to a simmer. Stir often using a whisk or silicone spatula to prevent it catching. Once the liquid is steaming, whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together in a separate bowl until combined.

4. Pour the hot liquid over the yolks in a thin stream, whisking continuously. Return all the mix to the pan and cook over a low heat until it reaches 82°C. Stir constantly to avoid curdling the eggs and keep a close eye on it so as not to let it boil. As soon as your digital thermometer says 82°C, place the pan into a sink of iced water to cool. Speed up the cooling process by stirring the mix every so often.

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