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LEMON BASIL ICE CREAM! YAY!!!!!

Two posts ago I wondered aloud what exactly to do with Lemon Basil. I spent a full hour on The Google Machine trying to find a recipe that was actual "Lemon Basil" not Lemon and Basil, which is completely different. I learned that Lemon Basil is popular in Laotian cooking and curries. But recipes for a Laotion Curry were not to be found. A little more diddling around and I discovered that Lemon Basil is very similar to Thai Basil. This changed everything. Suddenly I had a term that The Google Machine could recognize and it didn't take me long to find This. Ice Cream! Ice Cream... genius. Now all I needed was an ice cream machine to turn this:

Into a delectable summer treat.


After a little digging, begging and pleading, an Ice Cream Maker was procured from the MIL. The Ingredients were purchased and I set to work. First I chopped up the lemon basil and added it to a pot with the cream, milk, coconut milk, and sugar.

Then I sliced and scraped 1/2 a vanilla bean (the smell was amazing) and threw that in too.

A quick hit with the hand blender and I set it to boil, until the sugar dissolved.

I then cracked and separated six eggs, saving the yolks.

I gave them a quick beat with the hand beater (it went everywhere). I carefully tempered the eggs by adding the hot milk mixture to it a 1/2 cup at a time.

Put it back on the stove to cook and.... promptly broke the custard. Sigh. I turned around for like 30 seconds and it boiled on me.  I ended up with scrambled egg custard which tasted delicious, but had the unfortunate texture of icky grainy egg bits. Fortunately I had enough of everything to start over. This time  I did it in a double boiler and the added protection of a thermometer to make sure the mixture didn't go over 175 degrees.

I got a nice smooth texture and although it seemed kind of runny to me. I put it into the fridge to cool down over night. The next day I had this:

See the difference between the broken custard and the unbroken one? A quick taste test found the unbroken custard to be delicious but lacking the same potency of the broken custard. So I ran the broken custard through a fine mesh strainer and threw the strained liquid into the unbroken one to get some added flavor. I then threw it into the ice cream machine.

25 minutes later it looked like this and I added in a handful of grated coconut flakes for some added texture.

5 minutes later I pulled it out of the machine and put it into a container to freeze and set.

The Final Result:

THE VERDICT:
YUMMY... but then again it's ice cream so it is REALLY hard to mess up when your primary ingredients are cream and sugar. This ice cream was distinctively "lemon basil" and tasted the way the herb smelled:  sweet, basil-ly and a little bit of something you might call lemony. The coconut was more of an undertone but it did provide for some texture that was decidedly unique. The Husband, who is generally a chocolate ice cream eater, declared it different but delicious. Overall, on a 98 degree day this was definitely a treat. Would I make it again? Absolutely. Although next time I'll cut out the step of making the custard twice.... Here's hoping.

The Recipe:
Recipe credit goes to Meredith over at thekitchn.com and can be found HERE.

• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh lemon basil or Thai basil
• 1/2 whole vanilla bean
• 6 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup fresh grated coconut

1. In a large saucepan or pot, combine the coconut milk, heavy cream, milk, basil, and sugar. Slice the vanilla bean down the side and scrape the seeds into the milk mixture. Add the pod as well. Use a hand blender to puree the basil (its ok if there a few large pieces left). Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is just dissolved. Remove from heat.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks until smooth and frothy. Add about a cup of the hot coconut milk mixture, and whisk into the yolks. Whisk the yolk mixture into the ice cream base. Using a double boiler, cook stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, until thickened slightly or until the mixture reaches 175 degrees. Remove from heat and pour into a container. Refrigerate until cooled completely.
3. When mixture is thoroughly cold, churn using your method of choice. Add grated coconut to the ice cream when there are about 5 minutes left in the churning process. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for several hours before serving.