Strawberries and balsamic vinegar, a classic combination from Italy”s Emilia-Romagna region inspired this recipe. Rain delayed our local berry season by about two weeks so we are still able to purchase beautiful ripe strawberries at the farmer’s market .Roasting vegetables intensifies their flavor, so why not fruit/? The further addition of balsamic vinegar enhances the color and flavor of the strawberries. The roasted berries could be used on their own as a topping for store-bought ice cream, yogurt or cheesecake. To insure success in custard making, It is very important to have your mis en place ready for the ice cream recipe. Otherwise you could end up with sweetened scrambled eggs. The accompanying sauce is very easy, no need to even strain out the seeds, unless you want to.
Roasted Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream
Yields a generous quart
For the roasted strawberries:
Ingredients:
- 3c strawberries
- 1T balsamic vinegar
- 1T turbinado sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Wash, stem, hull and halve strawberries.
- Place in a bowl and sprinkle a tablespoon or so of turbinado sugar and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar over the berries. Toss lightly.
- Arrange on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet, cut side down.
- Bake until the fruit softens and the juices start to bubble, start looking at 20 minutes and judge accordingly. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Transfer berries to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth and refrigerate until ready to use.
Ice Cream Base:
- 2c heavy cream
- 1c whole milk
- 3/4c granulated sugar
- Kosher salt
- 5 egg yolks
- 1t vanilla extract
Directions:
- Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with several inches of ice water. Place a smaller metal bowl (large enough to hold your ingredients) inside the large bowl. Pour one cup of heavy cream in the small bowl. Have a fine strainer nearby.
- Whisk the egg yolks to break them up.
- In a medium non-reactive saucepan, mix 1 cup of heavy cream with the milk, sugar and a pinch of salt. Warm over medium high heat until tiny bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan.
- In a steady stream, pour one cup of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisk constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling.
- Pour the egg and cream mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat , stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom. Cook until the custard is thickened, 4 to 8 minutes. The custard will be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and hold a line drawn through it with a finger. An instant read thermometer, which I prefer, should read 175 to 180F at this point. Immediately remove from the stove and put the custard through a strainer into the bowl that has the cream in the ice bath.
- Cool the custard to room temperature and whisk in the berry mixture.
- Refrigerate custard until completely chilled, overnight or at least four hours. Then freeze custard in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Store ice cream in an air-tight container, freeze for at least four hours before serving.
Balsamic Strawberry-Raspberry Sauce:
Ingredients:
- 1c strawberries
- 1c raspberries
- 1c sugar
- 2T balsamic vinegar (or more to taste)
Directions:
- Cook berries, sugar and balsamic vinegar in a medium sauce pan until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened, this will depend on the water content of your berries,anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes. Berries should be able to coat the back of a spoon.
- Transfer sauce to a bowl. Chill until cold, two hours or so.
