SUMMER // Recipe for four

Wild plants and artichoke ice cream

Roadside findings are often plentiful in summer. Young shoots of sorrel, dandelion, fennel and oxalis are favourites for this little dish. You can use any plants you like, but it’s good to have some different identities – bitter, tangy and even somewhat oxalic. The sweetened ice cream is best combined with plants that have citric notes, to cut through the richness of the lactose and creamy Jerusalem artichoke.

ARTICHOKE ICE CREAM

450 g (1 lb) Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes), peeled and sliced

1.5 litres (52 fl oz) full-cream cow’s milk

150 ml (5 fl oz) cream

250 g (9 oz) fine cane sugar

8 g (¼ oz) salt

Simmer the Jerusalem artichokes in the milk until softened. Add the cream, sugar and salt and heat to 58°C (136°F). Purée the mixture and then leave to cool in the fridge. Transfer to an ice-cream machine and churn until frozen.

If you don’t have an ice-cream machine, pour into a shallow freezer container. Freeze until semi-frozen, then whisk very thoroughly. Freeze and whisk again, twice more.

WILD PLANTS TO FINISH

Clovers

Oxalis

Dandelion

Sorrel

Fennel pollen