Basil Ice Cream

Makes 1 1/2 quarts

1. In a blender, puree milk and basil leaves.
2. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine milk puree, half and half, heavy cream, 1 cup of sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine. Give it a little taste to make sure you have enough salt.
3. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/4 cup of sugar.
4. Over medium-high heat, heat milk mixture until sugar dissolves and begins to simmer. Slowly pour about one cup of the simmering milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs (a.k.a. cook the eggs without scrambling them). Then add egg mixture into the sauce pan, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Turn heat off. Add vanilla extract.
5. Pour mixture into a large bowl. Cover and place in fridge to cool, about 3 hours. To speed up the cooling process, you can place bowl in an ice bath in the fridge, or place it in the freezer sans ice bath.
6. Once mixture is cold, make ice cream according to your machine’s instructions.
7. Serve with a lemon wafer cookie (purchase at Whole Foods) and a sprig of basil if you wish.