Some may be surprised, others will not be, but in her younger days, several centuries ago, Annalena was known as "The Ice Princess." The title is taken from what was her favorite opera (it is still a favorite), "Turandot," as the title character is known by various icy titles throughout the work. Indeed, at one point, before she kills herself, Liu says to Turandot "tu che di gel sei cinta" , or "you, who are encircled by ice" (in the sense of bound by it), and it is true. Annalena refers her non opera queen friends to a source for this wonderful opera, to learn more of it.
These days, Annalena is more the ice CREAM princess, for all of the gelati that come out of her kitchen - and do not enter her mouth, thanks to the ministrations of various trainers. She continues to make gelati, because on a very fundamental level, people like it, and it is fun to make. If you have not got yourself an ice cream maker, Annalena URGES you to get one. They are not that expensive, and once you taste your first batch of your first flavor, you will wonder why you waited so long to get one.
It is against this backdrop that we turn to this recipe, which falls into the categories of "don't knock it until you've tried it," and "you learn something new every day." Annalena takes her inspiration where she finds it, and the careful reader of this blog knows, that she is inspired frequently by the Penzey's spice catalog. Some of the recipes , she passes over with an UGH. Others, she tries and rejects. Others are keepers. This is one such keeper.
Cardamom. Now, of course, the mention of cardamom reminds you of India, and Indian cooking, as it should. And blueberries, or huckleberries.... hmmmm. Americano, yes? A connection? Really?
AH, but you see, Annalena has a theory here as to where this recipe began. It is not a well known fact, that cardamom is a very important spice flavor, in Scandinavian, especially Swedish, cooking. If you review Swedish recipes, you will see frequent use of cardamom, and saffron for that matter. The connection, ragazzi, is the spice trade from so many years ago, and the fact that the best sailors in the West, were in fact Swedes. Remember Vikings, and sagas, and epics, and so forth? Is it all beginning to come together for you?
Not yet, huh? Well... that bastion of things Swedish, IKEA, is avoided by many for just about everything but their meatballs, and their lingonberries.
Beginning to make sense yet? Ok, some more information. When berries come into season, in a climate where there isn't much time for such treats, the rush to eat as many as you can, and to preserve as many as you can, is quite awesome. We know and associate lingonberries with Swedish cooking, but there are so many other berries that you will not hear of in the USA that are common to Swedish cooking. Penzey's is a company with a headquarters in the midwest. When the Swedes came to the United States, they settled in the midwest.
Still not there, huh? Ok, last piece of the puzzle: many of the berries Swedes were accustomed to, were not and still are not available in the US. So, they turned to what there was: blueberries, for example, and huckleberries, in the Northwest. Hence, this recipe, which begins to make much more sense now (one would hope).
Annalena would never have thought to combine cardamom with blueberries, or huckleberries (we will just say berries hereafter), but she tried it. And it is good. And it is easy. The berries in question have a very high pectin content, which leads to a gelling, such that you do not need to make a custard, to make this ice cream. And herein is a hint to my babies out there: if you want to make ice cream, but cooking custard unnerves you, use these berries. You will not need eggs.
The resulting ice cream, as presented here, is not very sweet. Kick up the sugar, if you like. The cardamom is subtle, and it increases as the ice cream ages. For this recipe, it is ESSENTIAL that you use good quality fruit, and fresh cardamom. In Annalena's experience, this is one of the spices that loses its essence very quickly, so buy small quantities, and replace them. For your berries, as it is far from the time when they will be available, either wait, or use the ones you froze during the summer before (you DID do that, didn't you? Didn't Annalena tell you to? Hmmmm?).
You need two cups of berries, be they frozen or fresh. Put them in a pot with a tablespoon of water, cover the pot, and turn the heat to LOW. Low, because the berries will boil up, and the stain from the fruit is very hard to remove. Cook them for about five-ten minutes, until they begin to collapse. Of course, frozen fruit will cook faster than fresh. You will have about a cup of cooked fruit at the end.
Next, you have an option: if you want a very smooth product, puree the cooked berries in your food processor. Annalena prefers things a bit chunkier (which explains a LOT about her personal life if you think about it even a little), so she does not puree the fruit. Add 3/4 cup of sugar to it, and also, a teaspoon of cardamom.
For cardamom, this is actually quite a bit. It will not taste like much, but give it time. When you've combined everything, add 2 cups of heavy cream, and one of whole milk. You will have just about four cups of liquid goodness which, when you leave it to cool down, will gel (remember the pectin?). Taste it for sweetness, keeping in mind that everything tastes less sweet cold, than it does when warm.
When chilled, into your ice cream maker it goes, and a lovely mauve gelato emerges, without the taste of egg, which some people feel is an impediment to really good gelato. A good quart is what you will get, and the flavor is strong enough that people will not take large portions. This is a good thing, as it means there is more for you, or more for when you are hunting down that "chunka hunka." And you DO know what Annalena means here.
Ice cream can very well be the way to a man's heart, and if you show him that you have a bit of spice, well, perhaps you can get away with "cinta di gel."
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