Basil Strawberry Ice Cream
A basil strawberry ice cream recipe?! I hear you gasp. No need to worry, I can assure you this is delicious.
Many moons ago I was served macerated strawberries topped with basil in a restaurant, to my reluctance and subsequent delight. After all, what are strawberries if not smaller, sweeter tomatoes?
Basil is such a versatile herb and it lends its sweetness and pepperiness so well to this recipe. The resulting ice cream is light, fresh, sweet, a joy for the senses. Adding the strawberries (you can easily use raspberries too) brings a burst of freshness and summer that will be impossible to miss.
Something amazing about this recipe is, as you can use frozen and thawed strawberries, you can make it in the dead of winter and it will taste just as delicious.
I chose to layer the strawberries directly in the ice cream, but you could macerate them in the syrup, skipping the vodka, and serve the ice cream in a beautiful crimson pool of berries.
While it may not be a combo that you first think of, I beg you to give this gorgeous dessert a try, it will surprise your tastebuds and delight you!
Basil Strawberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 25g (about 20 large leaves) basil, washed and thoroughly dried
- 150g sugar
- 500ml heavy cream
- 250ml milk
- pinch of salt
- 5 large egg yolks
- zest of 1 (preferably organic) lemon
- 200g strawberries, rinsed, hulled and chopped into small pieces (you can use frozen, defrost them first)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbs vodka
- zest of 1 (preferably unsprayed) lemon