Question:

I always wanted to try making home-made ice-cream. I especially love the ones from the ice-cream houses in Europe with chunks of nuts and fruits. Can you help me out with tips or recipes?

Answer:

Ice cream or ice-cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar,  and in some cases, artificial flavourings and colourings are used in  replacement of the natural ingredients. This mixture is stirred slowly while cooling to prevent large ice crystals from forming; the result is a smoothly textured ice cream.

The meaning of the term ice cream varies from one country to another. Terms like frozen custard, frozen yogurt, sorbet, gelato and others are used to distinguish different varieties and styles. In some countries, like the USA, the term ice cream applies only to a specific variety, and their governments regulate the commercial use of all these terms based on quantities of ingredients. In others, like Italy and Argentina, one word is used for all the variants.

Semifreddo is an ice-cream that is not churned, and is one of the easiest ice creams to make. It has a slight crystaline texture and is all the rage around the world. At Wickedfood Cooking School we make a semifreddo in one of our Italian cooking classes. Serve it with some fresh berries. Instead of Noble Late Harvest, use the same quantity of Hanepoot, Masala or puréed fruit (if using puréed fruit, sweeten with sugar, bearing in mind that freezing reduces sweetness, and intensifies sour so always use a little extra sugar). Make meringues with the leftover egg whites.

6 egg yolks

¹/2 cup castor sugar

³/4 cup Noble Late Harvest (see above

1 lemon, zest and juice of

375ml cream, lightly whipped

Fresh berries

1. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, Noble Late Harvest and lemon zest and juice until light and fluffy.
2. Place in a double boiler, or heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water and continue to whisk until thick and almost double in volume.
3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, whisking from time to time.
4. Once cooled, fold in the cream, and pour into a ±20cm by 10cm loaf tin.
5. Cover with tin foil or cling film and place in the freezer until firm enough to slice – ±6 hours.
6. To serve, remove from the freezer and allow to stand for 10 minutes, before turning out. Serve in slices with fresh berries or a fresh berry coulis.

Serves 6-10

More ice-cream recipes:

Fresh Peach Ice Cream

Raspberry Sorbet

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Ginger Green Tea Ice Cream

Bacon Ice Cream

Chocolate Ice Cream

Strawberry Cake Batter Ice Cream

Waffle Cone Recipe

Wickedfood cooking school, Sunninghill

(011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

As with all Dorling & Kindersley books The new complete book of Self Sufficiency, subtitled  The Classic Guide for Realists and Dreamers by John Seymour is not only highly informative, but also beautifully produced.  This new edition of an enduring classic from the founding father of modern self-sufficiency, is still the key reference to living off the land. Covering all the practicals from ploughing fields to milking cows as well as information on how to create an urban organic garden and harness natural energy, this is perfect for anyone aspiring to the self-sufficient lifestyle.

John Seymour was  committed as ever to living a better life, more simply and was acknowledged as the founding father of the self-sufficiency movement. He was an active campaigner for the countryside and the environment. Students come from around the world to learn about his lifestyle and philosophies at the School of Self-Sufficiency he established in southern Ireland. He died in 2004.

Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

Information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

Our newsletter goes out every second week, and in addition we publish an alternate newsletter every other week on the blog, click here to see last week’s issue.   In addition we can also RSS feed the newsletter  to your email, Click on the orange RSS feed above.

On Sunday 22 August, we’ll be running a very special event – working with venison, in conjunction with Slow Food. This is a gourmet, 5 course dinner, looking at 4 very different venison preparations.  Cost is R250pp, limited to 10 people. Contact the school for more details.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us. We update the blog on a daily basis and publish it through Facebook and Twitter.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

Cooking class programmes are up on the internet, click the relevant month for the August and September programme .

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 as this gives everyone hands-on experience and keeps the cooking class small enough for maximum learning. These cooking classes are conducted by our senior instructors who have extensive experience in the food industry and share a variety of additional cooking tips throughout the  class.

• Sunday 01 August at 4pm – Classic Indian dishes (R370pp). Authentic Indian cooking class, dishes including chicken mulligatawny, classic lamb buriyani, soya korma, spicy chick peas, naans and coconut pasties.
• Monday 02 August at 6pm – North African tagines (R390pp). Our Moroccan cooking class, with 3 classic North African stews, and accompaniments including crushed wheat soup. Dishes include fish tagine, lamb and fruit tagine, chicken and pumpkin couscous and couscous stuffed peppers.
• Monday 09 August at 6pm – Sweet treats – working with Chocolate (R390pp). In this chocolate cooking class, learn the secrets of working with chocolate, including decadent chocolate cake, chocolate truffles, brownies, choc chip cookies and layered chocolate mousse.

• Sunday 15 August at 4pm – Thai master class (R390pp). A Thai cooking class with classic Thai flavours and strong leaning towards seafood. Dishes include fried seafood pancake, chilli and tamarind soup, deep-fried fish, banana flower salad with prawns, crispy noodles and sweet sticky rice.

Please contact the school should you wish to make a booking:

Looking for info on food?

If you have any food-related questions, or a dish that you just can’t get right or even a certain recipe that you are looking for, but just can’t seem to find, then contact us and we will do our best to answer it as soon as possible. Click Here for more information. Hope to hear from you soon.

On food

100 year old eggs

As well as prizing them for being a symbol of fertility, the Chinese also make a rather curious preserve with their eggs. 100 year old eggs are traditionally made by curing fresh eggs in a paste of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice hulls for three months, not 100 years, as the name might suggest. With its dark-green yolk, a mahogany-coloured jellified white and an aroma of sulphur and ammonia, this delicacy is definitely an acquired taste. they are however delicious, sliced into Asian dressed  salads.

Cookbook of the week

The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency

As with all Dorling Kindersley books, this one is not only highly informative, but also beautifully produced.  This new edition of an enduring classic from the founding father of modern self-sufficiency, is still the key reference to living off the land. Covering all the practicals from ploughing fields to milking cows as well as information on how to create an urban organic garden and harness natural energy, this is perfect for anyone aspiring to the self-sufficient lifestyle. … Click Here for more.

Click Here to see Wickedfood Cooking School’s top 10 food-related books for 2009.

Food quote of the week

“Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” – Mark Twain, writer.

Recipe of the week:

Braised rabbit with mustard

Venison comes in a number of guises, from large antelope to birds and rabbits.  Now is a great time to be eating venison, and in honour of the season.  Rabbit is one of the healthiest meats to eat, it is very lean and extremely tasty if cooked correctly. … Click Here for the recipe.

The Wickedfood Team

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studio. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Venison comes in a number of guises, from large antelope to birds and rabbits.  Now is a great time to be eating venison, and in honour of the season, Wickedfood Cooking School will be running a venison information evening on Sunday 22 August.  Rabbit is one of the healthiest meats to eat, it is very lean and extremely tasty if cooked correctly.  The recipe below is based on one from Raymond Blanc‘s autobiography, A Taste Of Raymond Blanc.  At the end of this article, we have also included a variety of rabbit dishes from some of the top publications around the world.  Enjoy.

Mustardy Braised Rabbit With Carrots, click on the picture for the recipe (Photo - Andrew Scrivani - New York Times)

1 whole rabbit (±1.5kg), cut into  pieces – click here to see how

4 pinches sea salt

2 pinches black pepper

1 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard

1/4 cup plain flour on a plate

3 T butter

1/2 white onion cut in 6

6 cloves garlic, skin on

I tbsp white wine vinegar

1 glass white wine (’150ml), boiled for 30 seconds

1 glass water (150ml)

6 whole black peppercorns

2 sage leaves

1 sprig of tarragon

1 bay leaf

For garnishing:

1T chopped parsley or chives (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 120°C.
2. In a large bowl, season the pieces of rabbit with the salt and pepper, then mix in the mustard until each piece is coated by a thin film. Dip each piece of rabbit into the flour. Pat off excess flour from each piece.
3. In a thick-bottomed, 25-30cm ovenproof casserole dish on a medium heat, melt 2T  of the butter, then sear and colour the rabbit pieces on each side for 7—8 minutes. Season a little after 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Add the remaining butter and over a medium heat sweeten the onion and garlic.
5. Return the rabbit, add the vinegar and reduce  the liquor to a syrup.
6. Add the wine, water, pepper and herbs, cover with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
7. When the rabbit is cooked, transfer to a serving dish. Allow the liquid in the casserole dish to reduce on a high heat by a third, then stir in some chopped parsley, chives or your favourite soft herbs. Pour the sauce over the pieces of rabbit and serve with French beans, Swiss chard, braised lettuce or any other seasonal vegetables.

Serves  4 to 6

VARIATION

Of course, any of your favourite herbs and vegetables can be added to the dish. Olives and wild mushrooms would be lovely. And once you understand the technique, you can use chicken.

Other rabbit recipes

Rabbit recipes – Saveur magazine

Rabbit with mustard sauce (Lapin à la moutarde)

Rabbit with Mustard Sauce

Braised Rabbit with Mustard and Summer Savory

Braised Rabbit with Dijon Mustard & Rosemary

Braised Rabbit

Awesome website of the week: Pasta is a simple thing but getting it absolutely right depends as much on choosing the best pasta shape for the sauce as on cooking it properly. The book, THE GEOMETRY OF PASTA shows you how to develop an instinct for matching pasta and sauce. They explain how to team up pasta with a sauce to maximise taste and texture and to turn you from an average into a great pasta cook. This website is a taste of what you will find in the book. http://www.geometryofpasta.co.uk/index.php.

The Wickedfood Team

Wickedfood Cooking School runs  classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cooking lessons are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking courses are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes, these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.