Orange and Fig Ice Cream

These are fresh figs. Not an easy thing to come by in these parts. So when one of my local farm stands has them next to the wild Maine blueberries, what could I do but pick them up?

In my opinion, figs by themselves are not so great, but they are fantastic when you mix them with other things. Like oranges for example. Whole Foods over in Portland makes a mean orange and fig gelato. We always grab a dish - or two if we don't feel like sharing - when we're in that neck of the woods. With fresh figs at my fingertips, I decided to give home made ice cream a try.

The end result is this.

Orange and Fig Ice Cream

• 1 pound of fresh figs, chopped
• zest from one orange
• 1/2 cup or so of orange juice from the zested orange
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbs Grand Marnier

Put fig pieces, OJ and zest into a saucepan and cook until the figs are tender. Add sugar and cook until the mixture has a jam-like quality. Pop into a blender or food processor and puree. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. It may take some active participation on your part to get the mixture through. The object here is to strain out all the fig seeds from your fruit mixture. Unless you like seedy ice cream. Then feel free to leave them in.

By this point the mixture should be fairly cool. Mix in the cream and chill overnight in the fridge. Add the Grand Marnier just before freezing in your ice cream maker.