The weather is getting really hot and sticky here, and by that I mean that it's getting inappropriate and taking off all its clothes. Time to break out the ice cream maker and the spicy peppers.
When my increasingly frequent partner-in-crime demanded that we make ice cream with his stash of extra- spicy habañeros, I grabbed David Lebovitz's excellent cookbook and did a quick google search. We couldn't find a recipe that did exactly what we wanted, but it seemed well within our comfort zone of slightly odd but totally edible and maybe even tasty cooking projects.
We were wrong. This ice cream went above and beyond tasty. The only think I would change is the quantities. More of everything.
Especially more habañeros. We candied them for about an hour, which gave them a lovely texture and flavor, with a mild - but still present - spiciness. They were perfect, but due to concerns about the spiciness, we only processed three chilis. Next time I'd do everything exactly the same, but up the number of habañeros used.
The candied chili peppers were subtle enough that we needed a low-key ice cream to accentuate their flavors. David Lebovitz's vanilla ice cream recipe did not disappoint. The smooth, rich vanilla made an excellent showcase.
This is one of those recipes that I plan on coming back to, and I'm so happy to have discovered it in the first week of this hot Philadelphia summer.
The only problem is what to do with the intensely spicy simple syrup left over after the candying process. We've bandied around a few ideas - put a few drops in drinks, use it to candy bacon, put some in the actual ice cream - but for now it's in the freezer, with a warning sign in large lettering. Suggestions welcome!
Vanilla-Habañero Ice cream
Wash well:
6-10 habañero chili peppers
De-seed peppers, and slice into small pieces. Don't touch your eyes or your face or any material objects. You are now covered in spicy.
Boil together:
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
Add chili pepper pieces and simmer for an hour. Strain out chilis, reserving syrup for another use (if we can figure one out...). Dry overnight, then place in a freezer.
Make David Lebovitz's easy, delicious:
Once the ice cream has churned, stir in the frozen habañero pieces. Freeze until stiff, serve.
This was particularly excellent after we ate Matt's spicy chorizo as part of his monthly Charcutepalooza challenge. That recipe, although we made a few variations (mostly on amount and type of chili pepper) can be found here.
This is how Californians deal with East Coast summers.
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