Wasabi, Avocado and Ginger Ice Cream

Today I made Wasabi, Avocado and Ginger Ice Cream. You may wonder what ever inspired me to make such a dish. The answer is the secret ingredient for Stage 4 of the Marx Foods Ridiculously Delicious Challenge.

And that ingredient is Wasabi Rhizome. I had never seen this before but it sure reminded me of fresh ginger which got my brain linking the two together from the start! So after pondering all my options, I kept coming back to ice cream. To tone down the intensity of the wasabi and ginger, I decided to add avocado to my ice cream as well so I pulled the basic ice cream ingredients of sugar, milk and heavy cream to get started.

The wasabi is simply beautiful when peeled and quite easy to work with.

I decided to grate it (and the ginger) right into the ice cream mixture.

After heating the mixture the whole house had the wonderful smell of wasabi and ginger. I don't have an ice cream maker (but have decided I may need one since I want to replicate this recipe over and over) so I poured the mixture into ice cube trays for the first freezing.

After 4 hours I transferred all the ice cream into the food processor and processed until it was smooth before putting it into a 1 quart container for the final freezing.For serving, I sprinkled a bit of crystallized ginger on each serving and added a ginger snap cookie. I could hardly wait to taste this! The vote from the entire family is that this ice cream is a winner and we'll be having it again!! Thank you again, Marx Foods for challenging me and forcing me to think outside of the box with my cooking!!

Wasabi, Avocado and Ginger Ice Cream

4 ounces avocado meat, approximately 1 medium

1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2" piece wasabi, peeled and grated

1" piece ginger, peeled and grated

6 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

12 ounces whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

Ginger snap cookies and crystallized ginger for serving

Directions:

Peel and pit the avocado. Add the avocado, lemon juice, milk, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and kosher salt to a blender and puree. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and beat for about 5 minutes. Grate the wasabi and ginger into the mixture and mix to combine. Heat 1 cup of heavy cream in a medium saucepan until it comes to a simmer. Slowly add the hot cream to the egg mixture, beating constantly, until fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and heat, whisking constantly, to 180 degrees. Do not overheat. Chill the mixture completely.

Whip remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until double in volume. Fold whipped cream into egg mixture. Pour mixture into ice cube trays and freeze for 4 hours, or until solid. Remove the frozen mixture from the ice cube trays with a spoon or dull knife and process in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a 1-quart container and freeze for at least 4 more hours before serving.

For serving, sprinkle each serving with crystallized ginger, place a ginger snap cookie in the center of the ice cream and enjoy!