Lemon, Honey and Basil Ice Cream - it'd be a crime to miss it !

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Some years ago a very pleasant trip to visit a friend in France took a rather strange twist that involved a very unique (and ever so slightly stolen) car, being fingerprinted by French police (who also offered great advice on where to dine in the vicinity), and a lemon. Long story.  I’ll tell you when you come round to visit.

I was given the lemon, as a souvenir of this strange adventure, which I took back to Ireland and made into ice cream. It was the first ice cream I ever made and was a convoluted process. Was it the most exciting ice cream I’ve ever tasted? No. But it served to send me on a quest for a lemony ice cream that would create for my taste buds a little of the excitement of that trip, and here it is.

Strictly speaking, this is a frozen yoghurt but because it is Greek yoghurt it is every bit as satisfyingly creamy as an ice cream. It is also dead easy to make. With such a high juice content, you really do need an ice cream maker for this. Note: This ice cream is for grown-ups.

For 4 - 6 servings you will need...
... an ice cream maker

Zest of 2 lemons, grated

Zest of 1 orange, grated

175mls fresh lemon juice

75mls fresh orange juice

10g fresh basil leaves

140g runny honey

550g Greek yoghurt

¼ teaspoon sea salt 

1                    Place everything except the Greek yoghurt in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Immediately remove from the heat and leave to cool. Strain to remove the zest and basil leaves. Leave to cool, then chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

2                    When chilled, mix with the Greek yoghurt and salt and churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. When the mixture has thickened to ice cream, transfer it to a freezer container and place in the freezer for 24 hours. Although it is ready to eat straight away, the flavours develop further if you can bear to wait until the following day. Before serving, allow to soften in the fridge for 20-25 minutes.

Taste-tester verdict: "Gasp!" but in a good way. 

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