I’ve been churning out (#lovebadpuns) ice cream this summer like the winter’s never coming. Normally I’ll make a tub or two and it languishes in the freezer until Christmas. This year we can’t get enough and I keep trying out new recipes, so watch this space. And go take a look at my small ice cream collection to date.
The best ice cream hack, so simple it doesn’t even merit a recipe, is for salted caramel ice cream. Just get yourself a tin of Carnation Caramel, or a jar of dulce de leche, or confiture de lait – or whatever ready-made caramel is called in your neck of woods – and double (or heavy) cream. Stir the caramel into the cream in roughly 40/60 proportion and whisk to soft peaks. Fold in half a teaspoon of flaky salt and that’s it. Tub it, freeze it, ready to eat in two-three hours. No need to stir, no ice cream maker necessary. Give it a try.
But man does not live by ice cream alone (damn), so let’s think about dinners. For the ultimate beef roast, try the low temperature roast sirloin of beef. You could have it with fried mushrooms and some new boiled potatoes. Or a chicken tagine with plain couscous or homemade pita bread?
If you manage to get a bunch of beetroots with leaves intact, don’t discard them – they can be cooked exactly like spinach or chard; see the beet leaf tart recipe for example. Or bake a fennel and taleggio pie – use shop-bought pastry base if you’re pressed for time. Recipes should be about giving you ideas, if you have the first clue about cooking, rather than a script to be followed slavishly.
For a quick supper, Thai fishcakes might be an idea; or bucatini alfredo. And for those impossible people who don’t like ice cream, bake the chocolate yoghurt cake for dessert – one of the easiest recipes that exist, for sure.