A recipe for raspberry ripple gelato

I went on holiday to Sicily in June. One of the things I loved was the ice cream or gelato – smooth, light, and full of fresh fruit. I discovered that on the island they often make their gelato from whole milk thickened with corn flour - no cream, no eggs.

On my return, I found a recipe for Sicilian-style gelato on David Lebovitz’s blog.  I’ve been experimenting a little since then and this is my best concoction so far, using raspberries which are in season at the moment.

Gratuitous photo of Sicily - it's very pretty

Raspberry ripple gelato (based on David Lebovitz’s recipe for pistachio gelato)

500 ml whole milk (or you can use semi- or skimmed)

2 tbs corn flour

100 g raspberries

6 + tbs caster sugar

Mix the corn flour and four tablespoons of the milk together in a bowl until well-combined.

Heat the milk and four tablespoons of sugar (or more to taste) to just below boiling point (It will be steaming with a few bubbles around the edge). 

Add the corn flour mixture to the milk, bring slowly to the boil and simmer for three minutes, whisking all the time. You only want a very gentle simmer, a few bubbles coming to the surface. Leave to cool, then put it in the fridge to go cold.

In the meantime, make the raspberry sauce by putting the raspberries and two tablespoons of sugar (or more if you prefer) in a bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Mix with a spoon, and it should dissolve into a sauce. If not, heat in 30 second bursts until it does.  If you want to get rid of the pips, push the mixture through a sieve. Leave to cool, and then put in the fridge.

Once both the thickened milk and the sauce are cold, churn the milk in an ice cream maker (we have this manual one), put in a container and then swirl through the raspberry sauce. 

A slice of toasted cheese

I woke up this morning with the rain tapping on the window, and the wind frisking the trees. It could mean only one thing: the toasted cheese season had started.

I’m a big fan of melted cheese. It’s a hang-over from my childhood, but it has stuck with me like molten cheddar to a grill.

In the fridge, I had some Sussex Charmer – a local variety which has become a regular in our cheese box.



Sussex Charmer - very nice melted

Sussex Charmer

This cheese is a hybrid - a cheddar crossed with a parmesan.

You get the flavour of the cheddar first and then, just as you are contemplating the superiority of British farmhouse cheese, the zing of parmesan comes through, dragging you to the valleys of northern Italy and forcing you to admit that the Italians know a thing or two about cheese as well.

I cut mine into slices and grilled it on some toast. It was delicious – like cheddar just back from a holiday in the sun.  

Sussex credentials: Excellent. They make it in Sussex using milk from their own cows.

Availability: It's available online or from lots of local shops. I bought mine from Cheese Please in Lewes.

A recipe for watercress, mint and goat’s cheese salad

When I was a child, I used to pick watercress with my family. The stream where it grew was extremely cold, so my memory is not of eating delicious watercress, but of wondering whether I would ever feel my toes again. Today, I appreciate this peppery native leaf much more.



Springtime salad of watercress, goat's cheese and mint

Watercress, mint, and goat's cheese salad

2 handfuls of watercress
10 or so mint leaves
Soft goat’s or sheep’s cheese (I used Golden Cross Cheese’s Chabis)
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbs olive oil
Salt
Tomatoes (optional)

The secret to this salad is balancing the watercress’ heat against the mint’s freshness and the cheese’s creaminess. The watercress I used was quite mild, so I used a very mild cheese and not too much mint.

Wash the watercress and put it in a bowl, tear up the mint leaves and add them, tear the cheese into small pieces and add them. Sprinkle over the lemon juice, the olive oil and the salt. Toss together and serve.

Tomatoes add a really nice juiciness to the salad but they’re not in season at the moment – mine came from the supermarket and were grown in Spain.

Same salad with a few tomatoes added