By popular request, I’m posting a variation on my Lemon Verbena Sheep Yogurt Ice Cream, which you may have tried if you came to my pop-up restaurant last Summer. Why sheep’s milk, you ask? Sheep’s milk has a higher fat content and a slightly sweeter taste than cow’s milk. If you’re like me, and sheep’s milk cheeses tend to be your favorites, then this ice cream will be worth the ingredient treasure hunt that may be required. Of course you can follow this process with regular cow’s milks whole yogurt, but there’s a thickness and sweetness that comes with the sheep’s milk that can’t really be replicated. It’s now fairly easy to get sheep’s milk yogurt at whole foods all throughout the U.S., which was the final push I needed to prompt this post. (Getting actual sheep’s milk itself is another matter altogether. If you can, consider yourself lucky.) That said, Lemon Verbena Sheep’s Yogurt Ice Cream is a fun foray into ice cream making, and you don’t even need a machine. You do need to plan ahead, because when ice cream making without a maker, there’s making and chilling the custard, freezing the base, blending the base, and freezing the ice cream. None of these steps are time intensive, but there’s a lot of downtime in between. This Lemon Verbena Sheep Yogurt Ice Cream recipe makes about a quart of ice cream, and it’s great paired with little cookies and eaten as a special treat. The richness of the sheep’s milk makes a little go a long way and the uniqueness of the flavor makes Lemon Verbena Sheep’s Yogurt Ice Cream a fun treat to share with special guests.
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 yolks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups sheep’s milk yogurt
- stems and leaves if it were packed down.
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1½ cups dried lemon verbena (which my dad sweetly grew and shipped to me via Mail Order Herbs)
- In a small saucepan, add heavy cream and dried verbena leaves over low heat. Here's a picture of the fresh leaves so you know what you're looking for.
- If you see them buy them and dry them. It's easy to do and they keep well for tea, desserts, drinks, etc.
- You don’t want the cream to simmer, much less boil. Once it’s warm. Turn the heat off and let infuse for an hour or so.
- Strain the leaves out. When you’re ready to use it, reheat until it’s just about to simmer. Then in a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, egg yolks and salt. (If you’re concerned about sugar, you can go down a bit on this, but because of the yogurt tang, I wouldn’t go below ¾ cup). Also, if you really like it thick and rich, you could add up to 6 yolks, rather than 4, but it’s not necessary. Once uniform, pour in about half a cup of the hot cream and whisk until smooth. Add in another half cup. Whisk until smooth. Add the rest of the cream. (This process of slowly heating the yolks is called tempering). Add the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook low to medium low until the custard thickens and coats the back of your spoon.
- Return to the bowl, cover, and store in the fridge until completely chilled.
- I often do this a day ahead. In a 9x13 pan, whisk the chilled custard and the yogurt. (Sheep’s milk is a high fat yogurt, so if you’re subbing with cow’s milk yogurt, act accordingly- such as considering the additional yolks). Freeze solid. Scrape the frozen ice cream out of the pan. A fork works well.
- Add it to your blender, or even food processor.
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour into a quart container. Freeze solid. Serve and enjoy the amazing taste of lemon verbena.
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