Chocolate Olive Oil Ice Cream

Olive oil in ice cream is not something I had considered or craved.  But on a recent visit to ECCO Restaurant – Atlanta, GA I did take pause when I came across Chocolate Olive Oil Ice Cream on their dessert menu. I am a HUGE chocolate fan and extra virgin olive oil;  let’s just say I go through liters when cooking…but in ice cream?  I did order the Chocolate Olive Oil Ice Cream at ECCO and YES, it did bring a smile to my face and give me that eureka moment of, why not olive oil in ice cream?!

The search was on to find a recipe.  I did find one for olive oil ice cream in the  “The Perfect Scoop” David Lebovitz.  I used his recipe as my starting point, tweaking a few ingredients and adding CHOCOLATE!  Since the recipe only has seven ingredients, I use the best chocolate and olive oil I can afford.  My favorite chocolate without a doubt is Scharffen Berger.  I have tried many different chocolate brands, but always come back to Scharffen Berger.  My olive oil of choice is a Greek extra virgin olive oil I have been buying for years at Trader Joes, a fruity style with a hint of pepper at the finish.  What made the ice cream so memorable when I first had it at ECCO, was the flavor combination of sweet, savory and salty. To capture that salty flavor, I sprinkled Maldon sea salt flakes over the ice cream just before serving.  Oh, I added a few chocolate curls, not just for garnish,  but for MORE chocolate!

 

Recipe
Chocolate Olive Oil Ice Cream

1-1/3 cup 2% milk

½ cup sugar

pinch of sea salt + Maldon sea salt flakes for garnish

1 cup heavy cream

6 large egg yolks

½ cup extra virgin Greek olive oil ( fruity style)

3-4 oz. Scharffen Berger Semisweet chocolate (62% cacao), roughly chopped (+ extra chocolate for  chocolate curl garnish)

Procedure
1.  In a medium sauce pan, combine the milk, sugar and salt until warm over medium low heat.

2.  In a large bowl add the heavy cream and set a fine mesh strainer over the bowl, set aside.

3.  In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks together.  With a soup ladle, slowly add the warm milk mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly as you add the warm milk mixture.

4.  Return this mixture to the sauce pan.  Stir over medium heat until the mixture coats the spoon.  This is your custard.

5.  Pour the custard through the mesh strainer into the cream.  Stir to combine and then whisk in the olive oil until it is completely blended.  Place this bowl in a larger ice bath bowl to cool the mixture down.  Refrigerate until completely cool 4-6 hours.

6.  Freeze in an ice cream making following manufacture directions. The last few minutes of the ice cream cycle add the chopped chocolate.  Make chocolate curls with a vegetable peel for garnish.
7.  Sprinkle with chocolate curls and Maldon sea salt flakes to serve.