Nectarines and Armagnac so good together!
Use nectarines at the peak of ripeness. If you don’t have armagnac, you can subsitute cognac or bourbon.
Ingredients:
2 pounds nectarines
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cardamom pods, crushed so they interior black seeds are exposed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons armagnac
Special Equipment:
ice cream maker
Method
- Skin the nectarines: Bring a pot of water to a boil on the stove. Meanwhile slice a large “X” into the skin of each nectarine bottom. Have a separate bowl, full of ice water at the ready. When the water boils, add the nectarines and simmer for 1 minute. After 1 minute, immediatedly dunk them into the ice water. When they are cool enough to handle, peel the skin off. If there are one or two that are stubborn, you can re-blanch them for another 30 seconds in boiling water, or use a pairing knife to remove any last bits of skin. Reserve the skins.
- After skinning the nectarines, pit and slice them into chunks. You don’t have to be pretty about it, they are just going to be puréed later. Reserve the pits.
- Place the nectarine chunks into a bowl and toss with the sugar. Let it sit on the counter as you continue with the cream.
- In a medium saucepan, add the crushed cardamom pods, cream, milk, and the reserved nectarine skins and pits. Bring the mixure to just a simmer (do not boil, the milk/cream should just start showing small bubbles), remove from heat and let it sit to infuse for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, strain the cream mixture over a bowl, squeezing out any cream from the peels.
- Place the nectarines and sugar in a blender with the infused cream mixture as well as the sweetened condensed milk, salt and armagnac. Blend until totally smooth.
- Chill this blended mixutre in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Once the mixture is chilled, pour it into your ice cream maker and churn it according to your manufacturer’s instuctions.
- When the ice cream is done churning, pour it into a container and freeze it for several hours until firm.