srawberry

I am committed to using everything in my garden when it is ripe. Saturday, it was a small bowl of strawberries and a few stalks of rhubarb. Inspired by memories of fresh strawberry rhubarb pie and ice cream – it struck me! Why not skip the pie and put the roasted fruit in the ice cream? Neither my husband nor my mom sounded very enthused when I shared my idea, but that did not stop me!

Remove the stems from the strawberries. Chop the rhubarb into small pieces. Place all in a baking pan and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of sugar. Roast at 375′ for about 30 minutes, until the fruit is soft and caramelized. Place in bowl and chill thoroughly.

I am not sure how or when we ended up with the ice cream attachment for our Kitchen Aide mixer! As committed as I am to using all that my garden produces, I am also (newly) committed to using the wide assortment of “I must have this” (never used) kitchen gadgets I have accumulated. So, last weekend the ice cream attachment went from the box to the freezer, ready for it’s first performance.

I chose David Liebowitz Vanilla Ice Cream recipe. As I have never made ice cream before, I thought a tried and true recipe was the best place to start! I used organic milk, sugar and cream.

Vanilla Ice Cream

About 1 quart (1l)

1 cup (250ml) whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

2. To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the heavy cream into the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

6. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add about 1/4 cup of the chilled strawberry rhubarb mixture during the last 7 minutes of mixing / freezing time.

The first time I had fresh Strawberry Pie was at Le Petit Café in West Richland, WA. Le Petit Café was the only French restaurant for miles around. Saving for years to move to America, Didi and Pierre bought the place sight unseen from their home in France. Since this was long before one could search out property on the internet, they were quite shocked when they arrived in Eastern Washington and found their selves in the middle of nowhere! They quickly got to work and created a successful restaurant. Over the years , their fabulous food and charming personalities led to a large roster of regular customers, as well as customers who drove from far away, specifically for Didi’s Strawberry Pie. Due to the popularity of the pie, you actually needed to reserve your serving right along with your table!

While this is not Didi’s pie (she would never “give up” the recipe) it is the version my Mom and I have been making since the early 70’s.

Ingredients

One pie crust, of any size you choose, baked according to directions

2-3 quarts of ripe strawberries – Reserve 12-15 of the best berries for the top of the pie

approx. 8 oz whipped cream cheese

Strawberry Glaze – about 2 cups – prepared according to directions and cooled slightly

I have made the glaze from scratch. However, I more often use Junket Strawberry Danish Dessert. You can usually find it in larger supermarkets near the jello or pudding mixes.

I did get a small crack in my crust – no worries – the next step will take care of that!

Gently cover the bottom of the baked crust with the whipped cream cheese. Not only does this keep the crust from getting soggy, it adds another dimension of flavor.

Next, slice clean hulled strawberries in half and cover the bottom of the pie.

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Drizzle a small amount of the prepared strawberry glaze over the first layer of strawberries. Keep in mind, this is just to “set” the berries in place.

Continue to fill the pie with slices of strawberries, alternating with drizzles of glaze between layers, to ensure stability of the pie.

Once you have filled the pie with sliced berries, top the pie with the reserved “best berries”, in a decorative fashion, stem side down. Drizzle the upright berries with a small amount of glaze to ensure they are “glued” in place. Chill the pie for a minimum of 6 hours, or overnight. Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Bon apetite!

Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

First Sign of Spring…Strawberry Pie