I was taking dinner to a friend with a new baby, and figured that dessert was the best part of any meal. I had a ton of peaches and Louisiana strawberries, and had a huge mint patch in the backyard, so i figured I’d see what happened if I made a mint-fruit combo. I didn’t want to risk making it too wild and crazy since it was for someone else, so I made a mint base, then made two separate combinations… and it was one-thousand percent worth it. Something about the mint ice-cream base brings out the summery-ness and freshness in the fruit. After tasting this, I’m not sure that I’ll ever make strawberry ice cream again without it. Or peach.
What You Need:
1 Cup of packed fresh mint leaves (Some people get super serious about this… the “kinds of mint” discussion, but let’s be real, I used whatever mint has taken over and grows in my backyard. and it was delicious.)
5 small ripe peaches OR 3 cups hulled strawberries
2 cups sugar, (divided) and 2 T sugar (for strawberries)
3 cups half and half
3 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon butter (for peaches)
Sprinkle of kosher salt (for peaches)
What to do:
First, you’ve got to either roast your peaches (roasting brings out the water which makes the peaches smooth and creamy) or macerate your strawberries (to release the juices).
For the Peaches:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Halve the peaches, rub them with butter and sprinkle them with salt. Heat them in a heat-proof skillet or pan until bubbly, then roast them for 10-15 minutes on 350 degrees.
Peel the peaches and puree’ them with a food processor or hand blender, then push them through a fine meshed sieve to make sure you have a smooth, juicy puree’.
For the Strawberries:
Hull your strawberries, cut them into fourths and sprinkle them with 2 or so tablespoons of sugar. Cover them and let them sit for at least an hour (although mine sat overnight and had a TON of delicious juice). Once they’re good and macerated, puree’ the strawberries and then strain the juice into another bowl.
Make the mint ice cream base:
This is similar to the base I made for the peach-bourbon ice cream, in that it starts as a vanilla custard. This time, though, I went with a SERIOUSLY creamy mixture of 3 cups half and half and 3 cups heavy cream (I know! But it was for a new mom! She’s earned it!)
Heat the half&half, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla in a saucepan just until it steams (not boiled! don’t curdle it!) While it’s heating, whisk 1 cup sugar and the egg yolks until the yolks lighten a little bit.
Once the half & half has steamed, pour two cups slowly into the egg yolks and whisk. This heats up the eggs slowly, so they can be poured into the half and half without scrambling them (this. is. key.) Stir in the heavy cream into the egg mixture and heat it again until it’s steaming again. At this point, turn off the heat and put the cup of mint into the mixture to steep while it cools. You could use an ice bath (see here) but this time, I poured mine into a gallon plastic bag and left it in the freezer for an hour so it would cool.
Once the base has cooled, strain the mint and pour the liquid into your ice cream maker. Add in whichever fruit juice you made, and then add in a couple of spoonfuls of the puree’ for good measure and a little texture. Freeze it according to the directions of your ice cream maker, and get ready for something delicious.
You can see that I ate both the peach & the strawberry in the same bowl… I HIGHLY, STRONGLY, SUPER-DUPER recommend this. Also, you can tell I was ready to EAT ALL OF THE ICE CREAMS by the way I didn’t even let the ice cream freeze hard before I took the photo. The #1 tell-tale sign of someone who’s planning to eat THE WHOLE BATCH. 
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