Chilled Rhubarb Soup And Vanilla Ice Cream Recipes

CHILLED RHUBARB SOUP AND VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• To make the caramel, butter a cookie sheet and set aside.
• In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, caramelize the sugar by cooking it while stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. The caramel should be golden brown. Remove from heat.
• Add the almonds and hazelnuts. Return pan to low flame and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add vanilla bean slivers and remove from heat.
• Pour the caramel onto the cookie sheet. Let it cool and harden.
• With a sharp, heavy knife, mince the caramel well. (Do not use a food processor because it will turn the caramel into powder.) You should have about 3/4 cup of crushed caramel. Spread the mixture over a baking sheet and set aside.
• To make the soup, place the 12 cups of chopped rhubarb and the vanilla bean in a pot and cover with 8 cups water. Add 2 cups of the sugar.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 90 minutes. When the liquid has cooked for about 15 minutes, remove the vanilla bean and squeeze out the tiny black seeds inside into the pot. To do this, pinch the bean with your thumb and forefinger and run your fingers down the length of the bean. Toss the skin back into the pot.
• Meanwhile, place the 3 cups of rhubarb garnish in a pot and add 3/4 cup water and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. When the rhubarb is cooked, remove the pot from the heat, and place it in a bowl filled with ice and water to stop the cooking.
• When the other rhubarb soup mixture has finished cooking, strain it through a fine sieve or chinois (do not press the solids). You should have about 7 cups of liquid. Chill thoroughly. Before serving, season the soup and the rhubarb garnish slices with sugar and lemon juice.
• To serve, place equal amounts of the rhubarb garnish in serving bowls. Add equal portions of the minced strawberries. Ladle over the soup mixture. Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center of the crushed caramel, and roll it to coat. Place the ice cream in the center of the soup, and sprinkle a little more caramel over the top.

CHILLED RHUBARB AND RASPBERRY SOUP

Steps:

• Bring sugar, vanilla bean seeds and pod, rhubarb, and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, and add raspberries and 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar if desired, depending on sweetness of the fruit. Let cool for 30 minutes.
• Gently mash fruit with a ladle. Strain through a coarse sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Chill soup at least 3 hours or up to overnight. Garnish each serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and raspberries if desired.

ULTIMATE VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put the canister from the machine into the freezer a day before you want to make the ice cream. Next day, pour the cream and milk into a medium heavy-based pan, then tip in half the sugar. Slit the vanilla pod down its length with a small sharp knife and scoop out as many of the tiny black seeds as you can into the cream mixture. Cut the pod into three and drop it into the pan.
• Heat the cream and milk over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it almost boils - you'll see a few bubbles at the edge. Take off the heat and set aside for 30 minutes so the vanilla can infuse.
• Put the egg yolks into a bowl with the rest of the sugar and beat with an electric hand beater for about 2 minutes until the mixture has thickened, is paler in colour and falls in thick ribbons when you lift the beaters. Using a measuring jug, scoop out about 125ml/4fl oz of the cream mixture and beat into the egg yolks to slacken them. Reheat the cream until it just comes to the boil, take off the heat and stir in the egg yolk mixture.
• Return the pan to a low heat and cook, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, for 8-10 minutes, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Watch that it doesn't boil - as soon as you see any bubbles about to burst to the surface, it should be thick enough, so take the pan off the heat so the mixture doesn't curdle.
• Pour the custard into a heatproof bowl, then sit it in a bigger bowl one third full of iced water to cool (this takes about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally to stop a skin forming. Put the bowl of custard in the fridge for 3-4 hours, preferably overnight, so it gets really cold.
• Get the ice cream machine running, scoop out the vanilla pod pieces, then slowly pour in the cold custard. Leave it to churn for 10-30 minutes (depending on your machine). When it stops, it is probably too soft to eat, so spoon into a plastic container, cover with cling film, then a lid, and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours. (It will keep in the freezer for 3 months but don't take it out, then refreeze.) Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.
• To make it by hand: in step 1, heat the milk, vanilla, and half the sugar without the cream (the custard will be slightly thicker). At the start of step 6, whip the cream so it's light and floppy, not too stiff, and fold it into the cold custard. Freeze for 3-4 hours, stirring once an hour until almost frozen, then freeze as above.