Molded tomato ice cream—This is an unique flavoured ice cream, and will be the talk of the party! It is best presented molded into the approximate shape of a tomato, garnished with large mint leaves at the base, a sprig on top to resemble tomato leaves and the stem, then served accompanied with other fruits. (The tomato actually is a fruit, not a vegetable as is commonly thought of.) This visual impact alerts the palate in anticipation!
This recipe makes approximately 1 quart of delicious tomato ice cream.
1 cup milk
¼ cup all purpose flour
½ cup extra fine sugar
3 egg yolks
1/8 tsp salt
1½ cups tomato puree
½ T fresh lemon juice
½ pt whipping cream
¼ cup of sugar
1. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat to just below the boiling point.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and the extra fine sugar, blending well.
3. Add the egg yolks to the flour mixture, and beat thoroughly.
4. Pour the milk slowly into the flour mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until well blended.
5. Pour the resulting mixture into the top of a double boiler, and cook over boiling water, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick and smooth.
6. Remove from heat, and let the custard cool slightly.
7. When slightly cooled; add the salt, tomato puree and lemon juice. Blend thoroughly.
8. Place the tomato custard mixture in the fridge to cool completely.
9. When the custard is completely cooled, in a separate bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and continue beating for several seconds until well blended.
10. Fold the whipped cream into the cooled tomato custard mixture.
11. Freeze the tomato ‘custard’ in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
12. After freezing, this ice cream may be packed into two pint molds lined with saran wrap.
13. Wrap the molds tightly with aluminum foil and place in your freezer until ready to unmold.
14. To present your tomato ice cream, unmold, and place the two halves together to form a ball or melon shape.
15. Garnish with mint leaves as suggested above. (Other unique recipes and ideas for homemade entertaining cheeses, ‘mocktails’, and herbal uses are available in betweenclosefriends.com blog)
Serve, and wait for the astonishing compliments!