Syrian apricot ice cream

Dried fruits are important in Middle Eastern cuisine. The most prized are figs, but apricots come in at a close second. Dried fruits were used to preserve fruit for the harsh summer months and as a source of vitamins and nutrition, especially vitamin C, during long, arduous journeys through the desert landscape.

This is a lovely, rich, and decadent ice cream. The dried apricot's flavour is bold and dominates the ice cream. I served it with a topping of dried apricot leather from Azerbaijan. The tartness of the leather beautifully balanced the sweetness and richness of the ice cream.

Greg and Lucy Malouf have travelled the Middle East extensively, publishing several specialized cookbooks. This cookbook is one of my favourites, a thick volume filled with amazing recipes and photographs. This cookbook will make you want to get out to the closest Mediterranean store (or on Amazon) and order a pantry full of new ingredients for this cuisine. I have cooked a few, definitely not enough, recipes from this book; each is spectacular. I need to complete the collection of their cookbooks; oh, I wish I had a larger cookbook budget. This book is for those who are looking for spectacular Middle Eastern cuisine.

For more delicious recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the apricot purèe:

1 lb dried Turkish apricots

1/2 cups water

1/2 cup sherry wine

4 green cardamom pods

1 clove

1/2-inch cinnamon stick

3-4-1 cup white sugar

For the cream:

2 cups cream

1 egg yolk, whipped

1-2 drops vanilla essence

Add all the ingredients for the apricot purèe to a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 30 minutes until the liquids have formed a thick syrup. Remove the aromatics and cool completely. Purèe in a blender until very smooth. Strain the purèe through a fine-mesh sieve for a smooth ice cream.

Meanwhile, heat the cream on a low flame. When warm, pour the whipped eggs in a very thin stream into the cream, stirring it continually. Stir on a very low flame until you have a light custard, about 3 minutes. Remove, strain through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside to cool.

When both the liquids are cool, mix them. Taste for sugar and adjust with superfine sugar so it dissolves immediately. Churn in an ice cream maker on the ice cream setting.