Pomegranate Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 3 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 pomegranates, juiced

Instructions

Combine the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan and heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is hot (but not boiling). In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and gradually add a portion of the cream mixture until blended; when smooth, add the mixture back to the saucepan.

Whisk continuously over low heat until the mixture thickens (it will coat a spoon), about five minutes. Be sure to keep it from boiling. Remove from heat.

Remove the vanilla bean from the mixture, and stir in pomegranate juice. Mix well, then cool in the refrigerator for an hour or so, before firing up the ice cream machine; follow instruction for your machine. Freeze for an additional hour or two before serving.

It’s not hard to find instructions online for juicing a pomegranate, but I’ll describe the method I used. I split each in half vertically, then made four horizontal cuts across the center (about an inch or so deep). I turned the fruit over and used my thumbs to loosen up the seeds; using a large spoon, I “coerced” them a bit more with a few strong taps. I then juiced the seeds with a mortar and pestle—that didn’t get it all, so I squeezed the seeds by hand, straining the juice into a large bowl. I suppose one could skip this step with a cup store-bought juice.