Pink Peppercorn Strawberry Ice Cream

You're going to have to wait for the elderflower recipes, however yummy they are. This ice cream is very, very good.  I had to share. 

Before making this recipe, I had never appreciated pepper. It's just something you grind on top, just 'seasoning'.  This made me think again about pepper as a flavour in itself, not just as a flavour enhancer. 

I couldn't find pink peppercorns on their own here, so I had to buy a mixture of black, white, green and pink and then pick them out. I don't think they were the best quality but they still made magic. 

I had heard of strawberry and pepper combinations before, but not really taken any notice. Then I saw this recipe and thought I would give it a go. I'm so glad I did.  It's very difficult to describe. There's a big hit of intense strawberry at first taste, then the creaminess takes over, all with something unusual you can't put your finger on, then suddenly in the last phase as it melts off your tongue, you get the pepper. 

The original recipe was for no-churn and involved whipped egg whites. I decided to take out the egg whites and add more cream. I left it overnight in the fridge to develop the flavours and really chill it, then sieved the bigger bits of strawberry out before churning it. I then folded them back in, after slightly squishing them.  I also swapped stem ginger syrup for fresh ginger - if you would rather use that, it's about 1.5 tbsp you need to add. 

We got a little too overexcited and so ate our scoops before it had truly hardened up in the freezer, hence the slightly melty photos (I apologise in general for the photos too, they're not quite right today). On mine I crushed a few more peppercorns over the top. Divine. 

Pink Peppercorn Strawberry Ice Cream

(adapted from Food and Travel magazine)

1 tbsp pink peppercorns

450g strawberries

75g caster sugar

3 egg yolks

1 tbsp honey

1cm chunk of fresh ginger

350ml double cream

Grind the peppercorns up to a powder. Hull the strawberries and chop them fairly small  - I cut each strawberry into 8. Put the strawberries and pepper into a saucepan with the sugar and the ginger lump, cut into quarters. Heat gently until syrupy and thick but not mushy. Remove to a bowl to cool and slightly mash any large lumps - you still want strawberry bits, but not great frozen lumps. Whisk the egg yolks with the honey until thick and creamy. Add the cream and beat to combine. Remove the ginger from the strawberry mixture then fold in. Put in the fridge overnight to steep. When ready to churn, sieve the mixture for the bigger strawberry bits, then churn according to your instructions. When done, remove to a plastic container and fold in the strawberry bits. Quickly put in the freezer to firm. 

(As I halved the recipe and then played around, I'm not sure of the exact quantity it made - I reckon it was about 3/4 of a litre.)