Olive Oil Ice Cream

First week of summer. The twins and I have a summer schedule: 7:30 breakfast, 9 AM park or outdoor time, 11 AM lunch, 12:30-2 nap time, which is my work window, and by work I mean: blog posts, the reading I have been meaning to do, occasionally just sitting in the quiet apartment listening to Chicago in June, which sounds like: someone's lawnmower, someone else's music, the 59 bus, and the specific quality of early summer air through the screen door.

Nora has decided that the park sandbox is the best thing that has ever happened to her. She has sand in her shoes every day for the last week. She has sand in the stroller. She has sand in her hair at 9 PM after a bath I was certain would remove it. Owen has also discovered the sandbox and they now sit across from each other and fill containers and dump them with the intensity of people engaged in serious collaborative work.

Ryan is on a manageable shift rotation through July, which means I have backup most nights and more days where we are all four of us in the apartment, which is the summer I wanted. The apartment is not large. We are fine. Some of the most important things happen in apartments that are not large.

Summer meal rotation: cold pasta salads, grilled chicken that Ryan does on the balcony on his days off, a lot of Costco rotisserie chicken dismembered into various meals, fresh corn from the farmers market that opens Saturdays one block over. I made gazpacho for the first time this summer: blended tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar. Served cold. Drank it standing over the sink while both babies napped. I am going to make this every hot week of the summer.

The gazpacho got me thinking about olive oil in a new way — how something so everyday could taste so specific and right when the heat settles in. I had a bottle of good olive oil on the counter and the farmers market strawberries were already gone by Saturday afternoon, so I went a different direction entirely: olive oil ice cream, which sounds like something you’d raise an eyebrow at and then eat the entire bowl of. Ryan tried it on his day off and said nothing for a moment, which is the best kind of review.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min (plus 6 hours freezing) | Total Time: 6 hours 15 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup good-quality extra virgin olive oil
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Flaky sea salt, for finishing (optional)

Instructions

Warm the base. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, heavy cream, and half the sugar (6 tablespoons). Stir occasionally until the mixture is hot and just beginning to steam — do not boil.
Whisk the yolks. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar until pale and slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
Temper the eggs. Slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Then pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan, whisking to combine.
Cook the custard. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon and registers 170—175°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 5—7 minutes.
Add the olive oil. Remove from heat. Whisk in the olive oil, sea salt, and vanilla extract until fully emulsified and smooth.
Chill. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate until completely cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Churn or freeze. If using an ice cream maker, churn according to manufacturer instructions, about 20—25 minutes, until thick and creamy. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. If no ice cream maker, pour the cold custard into a shallow freezer-safe pan, freeze for 1 hour, then whisk vigorously. Repeat every hour for 4—5 hours until scoopable.
Serve. Scoop into bowls and finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt and a very light drizzle of olive oil if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Olive Oil Ice Cream — The Summer Treat I Did Not See Coming