Sour Orange Ice Cream

It was a friend's birthday potluck today, coincidentally it was Ellen's actually birthday yesterday so it was lovely to celebrate with cake and friends - in the sun - with a plethora of delicious dishes. I decided to make an ice cream to accompany the birthday cake. 

I started wondering about adapting the Sour Orange Pie filling to make into an ice cream. I looked on line for ice cream recipes that used condensed milk and eggs but none involved cooking the eggs. I didn't like the idea of making ice cream with raw eggs so decided to make a quick 'custard' with the milks and yolks and to use that as my base.

I thawed a couple of sour orange blocks from the freezer and mixed them in. It could not have been easier - or more delicious. 

Ingredients:
6 large egg yolks
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
pinch of salt
1 cup half and half
1 cup whole milk
2 cups sour orange juice
1/4 cup orange zest  

Put the half & half, milk, condensed milk, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat.
While it is heating whisk the egg yolks in a ceramic or glass mixing bowl and then pay attention to the pan, stirring fairly frequently to make sure it doesn't stick or burn.
When bubbles start to form around the edges, remove from the heat.
Pour 1/2 of the warm milk mixture onto the yolks in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly.
Pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan and whisk again.
Heat the mixture over a low heat, and barely simmer, stirring constantly, until it thickens - or until it registers 165°F (about 5 minutes).
Strain the mixture into a large (ceramic or glass) mixing bowl and cool in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
Cover it once it has cooled down otherwise the condensation will drip back into the custard and add 'water' to it.
Add two cups of sour orange juice and at least 1/4 cup of very finely grated zest (use a microplane, NOT a traditional grater).
Then freeze it of course - I use a machine that I pack with salt and ice - it works great but is a pain in the butt, fiddly, messy and incredibly noisy. If you do not have a machine then pour it into a tray and take it out of the freezer every hour or two at least 3 or even 4 times, whisking it like crazy each time otherwise it will freeze into a horrid, icy block. 

The proof of the ice cream was in the eating and it proved to be a good one. Really good! So good that a friend suggested I open an ice cream parlor. I can see it now: Miranda's Lemonade & Ice Cream Stand. It would open when I had freshly made ice cream in stock and close when I'd run out. I would make it from locally grown, organic produce (including organic milk/cream and eggs!) People would bring me fruit from their garden and they would get a pot of ice cream in return. I have checked out the small professional ice cream makers already! ....

Notes:
I am sure you could make it with all milk or all half and half or you could even make it with cream. It will be lighter and more refreshing with milk and get richer and creamier the more half and half and/or cream you use. 

Pindo Palm Puree

Wash the fruit in lots of water.
Swish about to make sure no ants or other creepy crawlies end up in your dessert!
Drain.
Cut fruit from seeds, place in a pan and cover with water.
Bring to the boil and simmer until fruit is soft (15-20 mins).
Blend or process until smooth.
Push though a sieve with a wooden spoon (a cup or two at a time) to remove the fiber.

Simple Syrup

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water

Heat until sugar is dissolved. That's it!
I like to make a big jar of it and keep it in the fridge to have on hand for lemonade or for spontaneous sorbet making sessions! I tend to use white/cane sugar or half white and half soft brown as brown sugar can cause the bright colors of some fruits to become dull.

Pindo Palm Sorbet

The Butia Capitata Palm – also know as the Pindo or Jelly Palm - grows all over Gainesville. It bears several large bracts of fruit which produce 3-5 lbs of fruit each. Refreshingly tart and sweet all at the same time - the Pindo Palm fruit tastes of pineapple and apricot in equal measures with a citrusy 'finish.' The flesh is a bit fibrous which means you have spit out the fiber after you’ve chewed the fruit, but is excellent for baking – for making jelly, fruit curds and pies! It makes an incredible, tropical tasting sorbet.

Here are my top 3 favorite Pindo Palm Sorbet Recipes of this (my first) Season!

Pindo Palm Sorbet # 1
This is the one that tastes most strongly of the pindo palm fruit

2 cups cooked and strained Pindo palm puree/juice
1/2 cup sour orange or lemon juice
2 cups simple syrup (or more to taste)

Pindo Palm Sorbet # 2
This is more generally tropical tasting

2 cups cooked and strained Pindo palm puree/juice
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple **
1 cup chopped fresh mango
1/2 cup sour orange or lemon juice
3 cups simple syrup (or more to taste)

Pindo Palm Sorbet # 3
This one has a more dominant mango flavor

2 cups cooked and strained Pindo palm puree/juice
2 cups chopped fresh mango (or the best canned mango pulp *)
1/2 cup sour orange or lemon juice
3 cups simple syrup (or more to taste)

Blend and freeze!

* Indian stores have the best mango pulp in tins. My local Indian store has Alfonso pulp in big tins. Alfonsos are the King of mangos and the fruit is startlingly intense in both color and flavor.

** The pineapple we used was one we grew ourselves. The miracle of pineapples is that you pop the cut off top of a pineapple into the ground and hey presto! a couple of years later it grows into a whole new pineapple! Amazing!!

Devil's on Horseback

Here's a recipe my mother would make for parties. It's quick and delicious finger food. Children love everything about it - especially participating in the making of them! 

Ingredients 

The same number of prunes or dates and almonds and half the number of rashers of bacon!

 

Roast whole peeled almonds dry in the oven for 15 minutes at about 325 - until golden brown.
Stir or shake them from time to time so they brown all over.
Remove from oven and cool.

Turn the oven up to 400 degrees.
Pit the prunes or dates - if they are dry soak them in freshly boiled water for 30 minutes first.

Stuff each prune or date with an almond.

Wrap tightly with half a rasher of bacon so the fat is showing. *

Secure with a tooth pick.
Pack into a foil lined tray.

Bake for 15 minutes or until crispy

 

* Strong bacon is better - Canadian or English style. Some recipes stuff the prunes with mango chutney - i have never done that and don't like the idea of it!

Lemonade!

This is the easiest, most delicious and refreshing of all home-made drinks. Ring the changes and you will never tire of it. It's also good for you. About a million times gooder than any store bought soda which has 10-11 teaspoons of sugar per can.

Basic Syrup

• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Heat the water, dissolve the sugar in it and let it cool.
Add the lemon juice. Couldn't be easier!
Store in the fridge and add water (still or sparkling) and ice to taste.
Remember – all the ones and double up for larger quantities.

Now let’s make it more delicious.

Use soft brown sugar instead of white for a wonderful flavor or half brown/half white.

Cut strips of rind off one lemon (no white pith – just thin strips of rind) and add to the syrup hot water. Leave in the syrup – the flavors will intensify. Or take out after a day or two once it's just right for you - it can get a little bitter if left in for too long.

Make it with Limes or Meyers’ Lemons for a differently delicious limey or lemony flavor.

Mint Lemonade—Bright & Fresh
Add a handful of mint leaves to the hot water. Leave in the syrup – the flavors will intensify over time or take out when it's minty enough for you.

Strawberry Lemonade—Pretty in Pink
Take a pound of fresh strawberries, wash and hull them. Chop them roughly and simmer them in a cup of water for a few minutes.
Blend or mash (a potato masher works great)
Cool and sieve (you don’t want any seeds or pulp).
Let the juice sit for an hour so any pulp can sink to the bottom. You can add it all to the lemon syrup but it will make it cloudy.
Add a cup of clear strawberry juice for each cup of lemon juice.

Prickly Pear Lemonade—Psychedelic Purple
The taste of the prickly pear is more subtle—the color is absolutely spectacular, it's hard to believe it comes from nature. You can grow prickly pears yourself or buy them in Publix, your local wholefood or latin american food store.
Cut 4 or 5 prickly pears in half and scoop their innards out into a pan.
Add a cup or so of water and simmer until the fruit softens and breaks up.
Smash with a potato masher.
Sieve to get the juice but not the seeds.
Add a cup of prickly pear juice for each cup of lemon juice.
Prickly pear 'limeade' is not such a nice color. Green + purple = a muddy purple!
Prickly Pear Limeade is not such a nice color - the green turns it a muddy purple.

Sour Orange Pie

This is key lime pie without the bitter edge, without the ghastly after-taste of citric acid that comes in every bottle of key lime juice and/or without the time-consuming work of squeezing a bagful of slippery key limes.

This is a pie to die for - it is utterly, exquisitely, eye-rollingly delicious. The crust needs a little work - it is a pecan, shortbread crust that is pretty damn good but I would like it to be a little crisper - a little more cookie-like, so that the juxtaposition between the crisp base and the soft filling create a kind of edible symphony! I achieved this one time but didn't make a note of the proportions I used. Grrr. The lovely orange flavors ring through more clearly than with a sweet orange and the rind colors it as well. One time I tried to intensify the color of the filling using prickly pear juice - I forgot that purple + white (milk) = pink and I ended up with the most disgusting looking pie in the world - the color of pepto-bismol. We ate that one with our eyes closed.

Ingredients for one large (10” pie)

The Pecan Shortcrust Base
6 oz flour
4 oz ground pecans (or chopped and toasted if you want a crunchy base)
5 oz brown sugar
5 oz cold unsalted butter
Turn the oven to 375 degrees

~Process the flour and butter lightly (or cut then rub the butter into the flour)
~Fold in brown sugar and the nuts
~Add a little ice water to make it stick together
~Pat into a buttered/floured pan. Use the bottom of a flat glass to flatten it gently.
~Bake for 30 mins or until light brown and smelling heavenly.

Set aside to cool for an hour or two. This helps with the final texture of the base – if you add the filling when it's freshly cooked the base will be softer.

While you are waiting for it to cool you can separate the egg yolks from the whites and make a batch of Pecan Meringue Kisses!!!

The Sour Orange Filling
5 large egg yolks
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of sour orange juice
grated rind of 2 oranges
Turn the oven to 350 degrees

Blend all ingredients for 20 seconds or whisk like crazy for a good minute.
Pour into the cake pan and bake for 15 mins (to set the pie and kill the salmonella!)

Finishing Touches
Top it with some berries - in an untidy, uneven pile, or arranged carefully around the edge so every slice gets one (or more!)
A sprinkling of flowers from the garden are lovely
A mandala of small edible leaves (mint, lemon balm or cranberry hibiscus are perfect)!

Eat It!
This pie is delectable warm, delicious cold, even better the next day.
Serve it with cream and/or a raspberry coulis (fresh sauce), or chopped strawberries.
It lasts a good week in the fridge (not mine!) but remember that the crust becomes softer over time.

Working Notes!
If you prefer your pies more tart than sweet then add the juice of one lemon to ‘brighten’ it.
There’s no way around the tin of condensed milk – it’s a strange ingredient for a whole food nut but it works like nothing else.
Switch out the pecans for walnuts or hazelnuts.
The rind adds color and deepens the orange flavors in the tart. You can omit it if you like or replace the orange with lemon rind.
If you use lemon juice or rind try a Meyer’s lemon (my personal favorite) which has a slight tangerine tang to it.
Use a 'rasp' to grate the rind - it's super quick and easy and you only get the aromatic outside i.e. none of the white at all.
Use a pan with a removable side if you can – we Brits call these spring-form – I’m not sure what they are called in the US.