One of my favorite gelato flavors beside Happy Hippo, is Alice. Alice (ah-lee-chey) is a mildly sweet, light and airy ricotta gelato that is refreshing and awesome. This is my take on the wonderful gelato. This recipe is delicious but be careful - I had trouble keeping myself from om-nom-noming it all up even BEFORE I put it in the ice cream maker. Seriously.
This recipe makes about one and a half quarts of ice cream.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta (ricotta recipe to follow this)
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
zest of one lemon
pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon Strega liqueur or vanilla vodka, to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped, dried mission figs
Place fresh ricotta, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and salt in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add cream and blend. Taste for the important balance of salt. Add Strega or vodka to taste. Refrigerate until completely chilled.
Freeze in an ice cream machine. Add the chopped figs. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer container, top with a piece of plastic wrap pressed into the surface and freeze until firm.
** If you can find Strega, I highly recommend using it rather than another kind of alcohol. I brought a bottle back from Italy to use as a sipping liqueur and in recipes. I'm sure it's a bit pricey here in the states but believe me, it's absolutely worth it.**
** Putting a few tablespoons of alcohol into ice cream not only adds a hint of flavor (if the alcohol is flavored) but, it also keeps the ice cream from becoming rock solid in the freezer.**
Fresh Ricotta
2 quarts whole milk
1 C heavy cream
1/2 t salt
3 T fresh lemon juice
cheesecloth
Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth and place it in your sink.
Over moderate heat in a large 6-quart pot, slowly bring milk, cream and salt to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. When it reaches a boil, add the lemon juice, then reduce heat to low. Stirring constantly, simmer until the mixture curdles, about 2 minutes.
Carefully and slowly pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined colander and let it drain for 1 hour. Discard the liquid. Cover and chill the ricotta.
1 C heavy cream
1/2 t salt
3 T fresh lemon juice
cheesecloth
Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth and place it in your sink.
Over moderate heat in a large 6-quart pot, slowly bring milk, cream and salt to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. When it reaches a boil, add the lemon juice, then reduce heat to low. Stirring constantly, simmer until the mixture curdles, about 2 minutes.
Carefully and slowly pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined colander and let it drain for 1 hour. Discard the liquid. Cover and chill the ricotta.
Mmmmmmmm. I even have figs right now! Too bad my effing ice cream maker broke this weekend.
ReplyDeleteOh no! That's terrible!!
ReplyDeleteI can't make the ice cream due to lack of an ice cream maker... however, the cheese sounds delightful and very easy to make. I'll have to try this next time I make something that calls for ricotta cheese!
ReplyDeleteHi! I had ricotta figs ice cream when I was visiting Munich and I fell in love with it. I wanted to make some for myself and came across your recipe. You mentioned mixing in cream with ricotta. But the measurement for cream is missing from the list. If you do add the cream, could you please tell me how much of cream did you add.
ReplyDelete