MITCH IN THE KITCHEN

red currant and vanilla ice cream

I’ve only had Van Leeuwen Ice Cream’s red currant flavor once: the first time I stumbled upon one of their pale yellow trucks in SoHo a few years ago. The ice cream was rich but not too sweet, with tart red currants that popped against a smooth vanilla background. It was the type of revelatory moment that you’d talk up around friends who like to talk about superlative experiences with food. Subsequent visits began with a longing to relive that first taste, but each ended with a scoop of some other (also good) flavor. The trucks, and now stores, seem to be permanently sold out of currants and cream. They told me their currant supplier is small and can only provide limited quantities of the fruit each season.

The workaround? Wait patiently for these pretty pearly berries to arrive in my CSA share, as they do every summer, then make a batch of ice cream that will scream to be eaten in one sitting.

(makes about 1 quart)

1 cup red currants, stems removed
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
dash of salt
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine currants and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small pan. Heat over a low flame, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved and currants have released some of their juice. The currants should be softened but still hold their shape. Set aside and refrigerate. (Tip: you could simply spoon this currant sauce over store-bought vanilla ice cream for more immediate gratification.)

Heat milk, cream, sugar, and salt over medium-low heat in another saucepan til steamy.

Temper egg yolks and pour back into the saucepan. Cook custard over low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (or until it reaches 160 degrees). Stir and scrape frequently to prevent the mixture from coagulating around the edge and bottom of the pan.

Strain custard through a mesh strainer into a cover-able bowl. Stir in vanilla. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours or overnight (it should be as cold as possible). Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the machine’s instructions. Fold in cold currant sauce and enjoy it like soft-serve or pack it in the freezer to let it harden (they call this “ripening”).

whole wheat scones with fresh currants

It’s been said (particularly by me) that I am not very good at baking. I find it difficult to suppress the urge to improvise in favor of precise measuring and timing. So to accompany my recent foray into “science” (in the form of nutrition-related courses), I’ve started baking here and there. John is around for quality control (“No Mitch, you can’t eyeball 1 1/2 cups of flour”), which, I’ll admit, leads to things like perfectly tender scones.

Some of you probably think whole wheat baked goods are too dry and too dense. I kind of agree, so I usually blend whole wheat with regular flour when baking. These scones, however, are pretty delicious the way they are (as long as you’re not a whole-wheat hater). Pastry flour has less gluten (the protein component of wheat that makes dough elastic and bread chewy) than regular flour, making the final product less tough and more tender.

These scones aren’t too sweet, so you won’t feel like you’re having dessert for breakfast. The steel-cut oats get a little chewy, and the currants are really tart (in a good way). You (and I!) can also substitute other small juicy berries or dried fruit for the less readily available fresh currants. (Read a current article about currants here.)

(adapted from cook.eat.think.)

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup steel cut oats
6 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
10 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter
1 cup fresh currants
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine flour with oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut butter into the mixture using a pastry blender or fork, until the mixture is crumbly. Gently fold in currants, and add buttermilk. Mix gently, just until combined. The dough should be very soft.

On a lightly floured surface, shape the dough into a long rectangle, about 3 inches wide and 1.5 inches thick. Cut into triangles, and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush tops of scones with heavy cream and sprinkle coarse sugar on top (optional). Bake for 22 minutes.