Für das Eis werden zunächst Milch und Sahne mit Basilikum, frischer Minze und schwarzem Pfeffer aromatisiert und anschließend mit Eigelb, Zucker und Pfefferminzöl zu einem cremigen Eis gerührt. Einfach himmlisch! Sabine

ORIGINALREZEPT von Bryan Petroff & Douglas Quint: Peppermint Ice Cream
Makes 1 Quart

Oh, peppermint. We first loved you because of Peppermint Patty in Peanuts, with whom we strangely identified as kids (geez, no idea why). Peppermint tastes so damned great when done right, but when someone just dumps cheap peppermint-flavored syrup into a product? Yuck. A little peppermint extract is good to punch up the flavoring, but if you really want peppermint flavor to work, YOU need to work. There’s going to be some shopping, chopping, steeping, and colandering (not a word, just let us have this) involved, but the payoff is so worth it!

Ingredients
4 large egg yolks
1½ cups whole milk
1½ cups heavy cream
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
2 heaping tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
2/3 cup sugar

Preparation
1. Whisk the egg yolks in a large nonreactive saucepan; set aside. Warm the milk, cream, mint, basil, and peppercorns in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring often to keep the mixture from scorching.

2. Pour the mixture through a strainer into a medium bowl to remove all the solids, pressing down with a whisk or ricer to release as much of the liquid as possible; discard the solids.
Add the mixture to the yolks in a slow, steady stream, whisking continuously. Set the saucepan over medium heat, add the peppermint extract and sugar, and stir for about 2 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking, stirring continuously, for another 5 minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken; do not allow to boil. Transfer the pan to an ice bath to stop the cooking and stir until the steaming stops.

3. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container, cover, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When it is finished, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours to harden. The ice cream can be stored in the freezer for up to 5 days.