Strawberry Recipes for Strawberry Season

It's strawberry season in NC, and we just posted about our latest visit to Oakley Farm to pick some delicious strawberries.  We mentioned in that post that we were going to make some strawberry pie and strawberry ice cream.  Well we did, and the pie is long gone.  I just finished another helping of roasted strawberry and buttermilk ice cream and it is also ridiculously tasty.  So, as per request, here are both recipes for your strawberry pleasure!

Fresh Strawberry Pie


Ingredients:
*1 (9-inch) pie crust, baked and cooled
*3 pts. strawberries, hulled (5 cups)
*1 C sugar
*3 TBSP cornstarch
*1 TBSP lemon juice
*1/2 tsp. almond extract

Place 1/2 strawberries in a saucepan.  Mash, add sugar and cornstarch.  Cook slowly, stirring constantly for 5 minutes until thick.  Stir in lemon juice and almond extract.  Let stand to cool.  Add remaining whole berries.  Pour into pie shell.  Top with whipped cream.  Chill.

Roasted Strawberry and Buttermilk Ice Cream (From Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer)

Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients:

Roasted Strawberries:
*1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
*1/3 C. sugar
*3 TBSP fresh lemon juice

Ice Cream Base
*1 and 1/2 Cups Whole Milk
*2 TBSP cornstarch
*2 ounces (4 TBSP) cream cheese, softened
*1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
*1 and 1/4 C heavy cream
*2/3 C sugar
*2 TBSP light corn syrup
*1/4 C buttermilk

Prep 
(for the strawberries)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine the strawberries with the sugar in an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish, stirring gently to mix well.  Roast for 8 minutes, or until just soft.  Let cool slightly.

Puree the berries in a food processor with the lemon juice.  Measure 1/2 C. of the pureed berries; refrigerate the rest of the puree for another use.

(for the ice cream base)
Mix about 2 TBSP of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.  Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.  Fill a large bowl with the ice and water.

Cook
Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat.

Chill
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the reserved 1/2 C. strawberry puree and the buttermilk and blend well.  Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath.  Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

Freeze
Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.  Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid.  Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.