We’ve riffed on tomatoes several times in the heat of the summer. In all of our ideation, we’ve always kicked around the idea of pizza but it wasn’t until now that we finally decided to take the leap. Although I must admit, I did simplify the idea this round – and chose to leave out the pepperoni (even though I was soo tempted to put it in). Instead I went the classic margherita route, inspired by the simple pizza topped with garden fresh tomatoes, basil and good old mozzarella cheese.
The process begins with the tomatoes. I chose to make a tomato jam for the tomato component of the flavor because the cherry tomatoes are typically sweeter and remind me a bit of a regular berry. The jam was made like we would make any other fruit jam, a little lemon juice, and sugar and that’s it! The cherries soak in lemon juice to coax out the liquid and then are cooked with sugar until the water is displaced. It’s a sweet jam that explodes with tomato flavor.
With the jam complete, the next step is the mozzarella ice cream base. Similar to how we’ve used cheese in previous flavors, the mozz is shredded very fine, and then slowly whisked into the ice cream base as it’s being cooked.
The last step is the basil. Fresh basil is minced very fine and added in fresh at the end of the churn to provide that bright herb-y accent that cuts right through the cheese and tomato.
I have to say, the end result was even more delightful than I expected. I knew it would be good, but the flavors came together so fantastically well. As it turns out cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella are just as successful of a trio in ice cream as they are on pizza.
The scoop is a tangy, mozzarella and basil flecked ice cream swirled with sweet cherry tomato jam.
Margherita Pizza Ice Cream Recipe
Cherry Tomato jam ingredients:
1 pint fresh cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (about 1/2 pound)
1 to 1-1/2 Cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Ice Cream ingredients:
1 Cup of Milk (The higher the fat percentage, the creamier the ice cream)
2 Cups of Heavy Cream
1 Cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 Cup of sugar
1 Cup of pre-made Cherry Tomato Jam
1 Tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon of salt
Instructions for the Jam: Place a plate in the freezer (this will come in handy in a bit). In a medium saucepan combine the sliced cherry tomatoes and lemon juice. Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mash briefly with a potato masher to press out more of the juice, but don’t pulverize. Stir in sugar. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Cook and stir the mix until the bubbles subside and the jam appears slightly thickened, somewhere around 15 minutes. To test for doneness, spoon a small amount onto the chilled plate. If jam is gooey and wrinkles when you push your finger into it, it is done. This means it will not be icy in the cream (which you do not want). If not, add a bit more sugar and cook and stir a little longer before testing again. Cover and chill completely until you are ready to make the ice cream.
Instructions for ice cream: Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk fully. Add sugar whisk until fully combined. Add heavy cream, mozzarella cheese, and salt. Whisk again until all ingredients are fully blended.
Over medium heat, whisk or stir base continuously. Keep stirring continuously until temperature reaches 165-170 degrees. Remove from heat. Cool ice cream base to room temperature (an ice bath will do this in about 15-20 minutes). Put base in a clean container, cover, and chill in refrigerator overnight.
5. Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add basil in last 5 minutes of churning. Place ice cream is in freezer proof storage container. swirling in the cherry tomato jam in layers as you do so. Place container in freezer and freeze ice cream for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight if you can wait.
*Yields approximately 2.5 pints
If you’d rather not make it, you can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 8/21/15 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally in Minneapolis. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!
