Seasonal recipe of the month

Ingredients are all available in the farm shop

Strawberry, basil and black pepper ice cream

For a new challenge, why not try making your own ice cream? It’s a fabulous way to use up any over ripe strawberries and the flavour is unbeatable. For this recipe you will require an ice-cream machine, but these can now be purchased for under £50 and are a fantastic investment as the flavour possibilities are endless and it is sure to impress!

Ingredients

• 350g strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters
• 350g caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• handful basil leaves
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 375ml whole milk
• 500ml double cream
• 250ml whipping cream
• 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped

Method

1. Place the strawberries in a bowl with 110g of the caster sugar and the lemon and lime juices. Mix well, then cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 2 hours.
2. Add half the macerated strawberries to a food processor, along with the basil leaves and black pepper. Whizz for a few minutes to form a juicy pulp, then set aside. Crush the remaining macerated strawberries with a potato masher and set aside until needed.
3. Using an electric mixer, whisk the milk and 220g of the sugar together for 2 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Add the creams, the strawberry pulp from the processor and the vanilla seeds, then gently stir together. Place in the fridge overnight if possible, or for at least 6-8 hours.
4. Churn in an ice-cream machine for 25-30 minutes or as per the manufacturer’s instructions, adding the crushed strawberries 10 minutes before the end of churning.
5. Spoon into small plastic containers or cups to serve.