I had my mom and brother up this last weekend, and Saturday night I cooked them the nicest meal I could muster. (Well, my mom helped a lot — she even peeled a box of fava beans, which is no small feat.) We had fava bean soup full of olive oil and tasty herbs, creamy rice pilaf, and a big, fluffy dry jack soufflé just to show off a little. For dessert — after we recovered — we had this ice cream.
I hoped it would turn out well, but I had no idea it would be as great as it is! It’s mind-bogglingly easy too, so I imagine this will become regular freezer fodder around here.
- 2 C heavy cream (go for the good stuff — I use Straus. You can really tell the difference)
- 1 C whole milk
- ¾ C sugar
- 8 whole cardamom pods (buy small amounts in bulk and you won’t believe how cheap it is.)
- Mix the cream, milk, and sugar until all sugar has dissolved.
- Open up the cardamom and discard the pods. Grind up the seeds as best as you can with a mortar and pestle. It might take a while, but the smaller the pieces are, the more flavor you’ll get.
- Mix that shit up! All together now.
- Pour into a 1.5-quart ice cream maker and let it churn 20-30 minutes, or according to your manufacturer’s instructions.
- Scoop into another container and freeze for at least an hour or two to harden.
- Enjoy, and thank the gods that you were bright enough to buy an ice cream machine.