Pesto Ice Cream
I know it sounds strange, but this is far and away my most popular flavor amongst friends. I mean what is real pesto but basil, pine nuts, and dairy? Only thing missing is garlic.
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 handful chopped basil
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp sugar (or more if you want more crunch)
Directions:
Combine the chopped basil and the milk. Microwave until warm and let steep for 2 hours. Strain out the basil leaves.
Heat milk over a double boiler until simmering. This is when you put a heat-proof metal bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. The water shouldn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. If you don’t have anything that will work, you can just put everything in the saucepan (no water) and be careful not to overheat and scramble the eggs. Afterwards, strain the custard through a mesh to remove any scrambled bits.
Mix the eggs and sugar together in a separate bowl.
While stirring, slowly add the hot milk -don’t scramble the eggs. Stir continuously.
Pour the whole mixture back into the double boiler and cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spoon.
Remove from heat and add the whipping cream.
Let the custard sit until completely cooled in the fridge.
Churn. I have the ice cream attachment for the KitchenAid stand mixer. It has mixed reviews on the website (some leaky blue stuff), but my family likes theirs.
While churning, toast the pines nuts in a pan on the stove with the honey and sugar until toasty and caramel.
Once done churning, fold in the toasted pine nuts as a mix-in.
Sneak a spoonful but put the rest into a container and let “ripen” in the freezer for about 4 hours.
Serve!