Author Notes
Once the ground begins to thaw, and the air is getting a little balmy, it feels so nice to get out and take a nice long walk. A few miles away, on the upper side of Brady Street is an old Italian neighborhood, speckled with specialty grocers, bakers, and tiny store-front restaurants, including Mr. D'Amato's Sanford, where I had my first taste of an herbed gelato. It was basil, and reminded me of spring. Armed with a plump, snow-white bulb of Glorioso's best fennel, and a box of amaretti from Sciortino's bakery, I headed home with hopes of coming close to capturing this same effect. —Jennifer Ann
Ingredients
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1
Fennel bulb, sliced as thinly as possible on a mandoline
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Lemon zest (microplaned from one lemon)
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2 cups
Milk
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1 cup
Heavy cream
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4
Egg yolks
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1/2 cup
Honey
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1 handful
Fennel fronds
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2-3 pinches
Fennel pollen (crushed to dust in a mortar and pestle)
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2-3
Amaretti cookies (optional)
Directions
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Place the fennel slices and lemon zest in a heat proof bowl, and set aside.
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In a medium saucepan, mix the milk and cream over medium heat until foam forms around the edges of the pan; move off the burner.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and honey until frothy; in a slow stream, pour the warm milk & cream mixture into the eggs and honey, whisking constantly.
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Return the mixture to saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon - about 5-7 minutes.
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Blitz about one cup of the hot custard in a blender with the fennel fronds until they are reduced to tiny green specks; pour over fennel and lemon zest , then top with the remaining hot custard; give a good stir and pop in the refrigerator to cool completely; peek in and stir occasionally, pressing down on the fennel and zest to extract more flavor.
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Press the cooled custard through a fine mesh sieve, and freeze according to your ice cream maker instructions; pop in the freezer to firm up.
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Just before serving, scoop into pretty bowls and top with a small pinch of pollen, and crumbled amaretti cookies.
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