On the Joys of Herbal Ice Cream

There are days when I feel brilliant. For the record, there are also days when I feel completely out of sorts and totally useless. On those days, I usually decide that the only thing for it is to go to a day spa or buy myself something indulgent. I had one of those days last week, and luckily for me, the lovely L. was having a crummy day, too, so we went to a spa, and she got a massage and I got a facial, and the world was subsequently a better place for both of us.

But then there are days of genius. Usually this starts with a vision of something wonderful I’m going to make. And then my brain basically becomes an arrow pointing towards the kitchen until I can make it happen. In this case, I was thinking about the bouquet (no other word for it) of Thai basil sitting on my counter.

Thai basil, aka holy basil, aka tulsi, is a lovely anise-y herb that is a very good addition to curries. You can also make tea with it, and I’ve learned how to make a good herbal extract, too, that does, um, something useful that I’ve now forgotten. But suddenly it occurred to me that it belongs in ice cream.

I’ve had basil ice cream before. It was at Blue Hill (the one near Washington Square, not the one up at Pocantico whatsit). It was a very memorable dinner, during which I managed to reveal some supposed-to-be-kept-secret information to my friend’s sister, and after which my other friend was compared unfavorably in dress to Mary Magdalene by a random old woman on the street. But mostly dinner was memorable because it was fucking amazing. You’ll excuse the language if you’ve ever eaten there, because seriously. Wow. Part of the dessert course included this basil ice cream and it is no exaggeration to say I almost fell out of my chair when I took a bite. So it is shocking that I’ve never tried to replicate it at home. Especially because so many of my other favorite flavors (honey lavender, fresh mint, rosemary goat’s milk) are herbal, too. But that is now remedied, because I had a brilliant day last week.

You can be brilliant, too. You will need maybe 1/3 cup of basil (I used 1/4, which was fine, but now that I’ve tasted the finished product, I think it could use more). Get a heavy saucepan, and pour in a cup and a half of milk, a pinch of salt, the basil, and some vanilla. I prefer beans for this sort of thing, but a teaspoon of extract would be just fine.

Bring it to a simmer, slap a lid on it, and let it steep for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, you’ll need 5 egg yolks.

Aren’t they pretty?

Whisk in a scant 3/4 cup of sugar (scant means “not all the way to the top of the measuring cup”).

Then add a ladleful of the hot milk, slowly, whisking the whole time, so the eggs don’t cook. This is called “tempering.”

Once that’s all blended together, pour it back into the pot with the rest of the hot milk and the basil and vanilla.

Turn the heat back on and cook over medium-low heat until the custard starts to thicken. This is the sort of thing you’ll just have to get a feel for if you’ve never made ice cream before. It should still be liquid, just about a notch or two closer to pudding on… whatever kind of scale measures pudding. If the eggs start to look scrambled, it’s no good. Some cookbook authors advise that you use a rubber heat-proof spatula, and when it coats the spatula nicely without all immediately running back into the pot, you’re ready.

Meanwhile, get an ice bath together. (Or not meanwhile. Beforehand. You need this ready before you’re cooking the custard.) This means a big bowl with some ice cubes and water in it, and a smaller, stainless steel bowl floating on top. Pour the heavy cream into that bowl, and put a strainer over top. When the custard is thick enough, pour it through the strainer into the cold cream, stir them together, and let it cool down. Then chill completely, ideally overnight in the fridge, though an hour or two in the freezer is just as good.

Run it through your ice cream maker, and that’s it.

Basil Ice Cream
makes about 1 quart

1 1/2 c milk
1 1/2 c heavy cream
pinch of salt
1/4-1/3 c fresh basil (packed)
2″ vanilla bean, split & scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
scant 3/4 c sugar
5 egg yolks

Put the milk, salt, basil, and vanilla in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer, turn off the heat, stick a lid on it, and let it steep for 20 minutes.

While it is steeping, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar. Also, pour the heavy cream into a stainless steel bowl and set it in an ice bath.

Take some of the hot milk and carefully whisk it into the eggs. When that is fully combined, pour it back into the pot and cook over medium-low until the custard starts to thicken. Pour this mixture through a strainer into the cold cream in the ice bath. Mix together and let cool.

Chill overnight in the fridge, then run through the ice cream maker.