Apricot Almond Ice Cream

Photos by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

There’s nothing better than ice cream on a hot day. Apricots and almonds pair wonderfully here. I like to serve this with thyme shortbread cookies.

Makes 1 quart

4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups milk
1¼ cups heavy cream
2 pounds ripe apricots (approximately 18-20)
¾ cup chopped toasted almonds

To make the ice cream base, place the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in bowl and whisk until smooth.

Heat the cream and milk in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan until just below boiling. Very slowly whisk the milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and refrigerate until very cold.

Slice the apricots in half and remove the pits. Purée apricots (with skin) until smooth and pass through a sieve. You should end up with roughly 2 cups of purée, depending on the size of your apricots. (If you have any leftover puree, use it in a Bellini or pour it over plain vanilla ice cream, or even stir a tablespoon or two into a glass of iced soda water for a refreshing afternoon drink!)

Combine apricot puree with the cold ice cream base and freeze according to ice cream machine manufacturer’s instructions. Fold almonds into the ice cream at the end of the freezing process, transfer to a lidded plastic container, and place in the freezer until firm before serving.

Lisa Sewall graduated from Johnson and Wales in Providence. She then came to Boston and worked at Biba, before going to Nantucket to work at the White Elephant, Summer House, and Wauwinet. She returned to Boston and was the Pastry Chef at L’Espalier (where she met, Jeremy, her husband.) For five years, she lived in Northern California as the opening Pastry Chef at Ondine in Sausalito. In 2006, she and Jeremy opened Lineage in Brookline. Lisa and Jeremy have three kids which keeps her out of professional kitchens for the moment!