Rhubarb Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces ((look for red/dark pink stalks for the prettiest pink color))
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/8 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Rhubarb Sauce ---

2. 2

   In a medium saucepan over medium/medium-high heat, stir together rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, and water. Once mixture is hot and bubbling, reduce heat to medium/medium-low and keep at a lively simmer. Stir regularly, scraping bottom of saucepan, to avoid scorching. When rhubarb is soft and easily smashed with a spoon, and mixture is thickened, it's done. This should take about 10 minutes.

3. 3

   Carefully transfer mixture to blender carafe or food processor and let cool 5-10 minutes. Then process until completely smooth. You should have roughly 1¾ cups of rhubarb sauce. Transfer to a small bowl and place in fridge to chill until cold.

4. 4

   --- Custard Base ---

5. 5

   Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, whole milk, and salt until just evenly combined.

6. 6

   In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, gently heat the cream. Stir regularly, scraping bottom of saucepan, taking care to not let it scorch. Once cream is steaming and just starting to lightly simmer (thoroughly hot, and not starting to actively simmer or boil), remove from heat.

7. 7

   Very, very slowly drizzle the hot cream into the egg mixture, whisking all the while to temper the egg yolks. Once everything is combined, pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the saucepan constantly, until mixture just starts to thicken. Do not let it boil — when it feels like it's close to breaking into a boil, remove saucepan from the heat.

8. 8

   Line a colander with a layer of cheesecloth. Pour custard through cheesecloth. Stir vanilla into strained custard. Let cool a bit. Then transfer to fridge to chill until cold.

9. 9

   --- Rhubarb Ice Cream ---

10. 10

    Combine cold rhubarb sauce and custard base; stir to fully incorporate. Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze until it's at your desired frozen texture. Plan for at least 4 hours for soft scoops, 6 hours or overnight for firmer scoops.