Serves 4 to 6
Not just birdseed anymore: Tiny, toasted millet grains give the perfect crunch to this rich, eggy, custard-based ice cream. Custard refers to milk and cream cooked with egg until it’s thick and (yes) custardy. Ice cream that is made from egg yolks, which is the traditional French way of making ice cream (and which includes the majority of premium ice cream sold in the U.S.), is frozen custard. This is that, and I serve it with pan-seared seasonal fruit, but obviously you should eat it however you like to eat ice cream. Homemade ice cream doesn’t contain stabilizers or have as much air in it as commercial ice cream, so completely frozen, it’s hard as a rock. The best way to enjoy it is fresh from the ice cream maker, when it’s still soft, or after it’s been in the freezer long enough to set up slightly.
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons millet
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
Pan-Seared Fruit (recipe follows)
Toast the millet in a skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan continuously so the grains don’t burn, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the grains are barely golden. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Combine the milk, cream, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the liquid begins to bubble around the edges. Turn off the heat and gradually add a ladleful of the hot cream mixture to the bowl with the eggs to temper them, whisking continuously. Continue adding the cream mixture gradually, stirring with a whisk continuously, until you have added about half of it. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the cream and cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon or spatula. Turn off the heat and stir in ½ cup of the millet. Cover the custard with plastic wrap, gently pressing the plastic against the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate the ice cream base overnight or for at least 2 hours.
Spin the chilled custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve the ice cream straight from the ice cream maker, or transfer it to a container, freeze, and serve before it becomes rock hard.
Serve the ice cream with the fruit on top and sprinkle with the remaining millet.
Serves 4
Searing fruit brings out its natural sweetness, turning even fairly ordinary fruit into a delicious dessert in minutes. Use this recipe to cook any fruit that is in season. I’m sure I do not have to tell you, on the last page of this book, that in-season fruit, purchased from a farmers’ market, is going to be infinitely sweeter and more flavorful than out-of-season, industrially-raised fruit picked unripe and shipped in from faraway lands, and sold at your average grocery store.
Enjoy.
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons raw or granulated sugar (optional)
2 ripe peaches, nectarines, or apricots (halved lengthwise and pitted); or 6 figs (halved lengthwise); or 2 pears (quartered and cored); or 2 bananas or 1 pineapple, peeled and sliced ¾-inch thick
Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat and cook until it just begins to foam, but do not let it brown. Sprinkle the sugar over the surface of the pan, if you are using it. Lay the fruit cut-side down in the pan and cook until the side touching the pan is caramelized, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook the other side until caramelized.
Spoon the brown butter remaining in the pan over the fruit and serve with ice cream, yogurt, or porridge.