Chanterelle Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
¼ pound chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and chopped (about 1 1/4 cups whole)
¼ vanilla pod, seeds scraped, pod reserved
½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 juniper berries, ground (0.5 g, about 1/8 tsp. ground)
Pinch black pepper
.3333 cup granulated sugar
6 large egg yolks
Directions
Combine milk, cream, mushrooms, vanilla seeds and pod, salt, juniper, and pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to low; continue to gently simmer, without stirring, for 20 minutes. Remove and discard the vanilla pod. Turn the heat off and let steep for 20 minutes more.
Transfer mushroom mixture to a blender, and blend the entire mixture until puréed, about 2 minutes. Return to the saucepan, cover, to keep warm while you prepare the egg and sugar mixture.
In a mixing bowl, whisk sugar and egg yolks by hand until they double in volume, thicken and become the lightest lemony-yellow color, 8 to 10 minutes. Slowly ladle in the warm milk mixture as you continue to whisk, tempering the mixture until everything is incorporated. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook, over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thickened and a channel is formed and does not close when you run your finger down the back of the spoon, 12 to 15 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and place plastic wrap directly into the top of the creme anglaise so a skin does not form. Refrigerate until cool, at least 4 hours and up to two days in advance. Process the cooled creme anglaise in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions until firm. Pack in airtight containers and freeze until ready to serve.
