Standing in front of an immense, intricately carved wooden door in Fez, Morocco, my guide handed me a big bunch of fresh mint, shoving it firmly under my nose and telling me not to move it from there or I’d be sorry. Sure enough, when the gate swung open and we entered a tannery I kept my face deeply buried in the mint, as advised, and was happy for the good advice. Afterward I didn’t want to part with it since I love the aroma of fresh mint so much. I use mint for much more than an air freshener. It makes a wonderfully invigorating ice cream. I’ve planted mint in my garden against the warnings of friends, who say it’ll take over before I know it, but I’ve never had a problem using it all. And they’ve never had a problem eating the ice cream I make from it either.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 1 quart (1 liter)

　　1 cup (250 ml) whole milk

　　3/4 cup (150 g) sugar

　　2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream

　　Pinch of salt

　　2 cups (80 g) lightly packed fresh mint leaves

　　5 large egg yolks

　　

Step 1

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup (250 ml) of the cream, and salt in a small saucepan. Add the mint leaves and stir until they’re immersed in the liquid. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

　　

Step 2

Strain the mint-infused mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan. Press on the mint leaves to extract as much of the flavor as possible, then discard the mint leaves. Pour the remaining 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer on top.

　　

Step 3

Rewarm the mint-infused mixture. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mint liquid into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

　　

Step 4

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

　　

Step 5

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

　　

Perfect Pairings

Step 6

Make Good Scout Ice Cream Sandwiches by using Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies (page 223) to surround scoops of Fresh Mint Ice Cream. You can also get that same chocolate-mint cookie effect by layering the just-churned ice cream with a swirl of Fudge Ripple (page 210), Stracciatella (page 210), or crumbled bits of Chewy-Dense Brownies (page 221).

　　The Perfect Scoop