Olive Oil Ice Cream

I first sampled olive oil ice cream at Zaytinya's in DC. Months prior to this occasion, one of the boy's bosses had encouraged me to try it at Otto's Pizzeria, but I couldn't bring myself to eat it. Finally, at Zaytinya's, I had worked up the courage to sample this concoction--and it was beautiful. The olive oil flavor was fairly subtle, but the ice cream was oh so very rich. I knew it was only a matter of time before I tried to duplicate it at home.

Fortunately, I didn't have to figure out a recipe for myself. I found plenty of recipes for olive oil ice cream in one search. I ended up selecting this recipe, and it worked like a dream--although I think (it's been awhile) that I might have used half-and-half instead of milk to make it creamier. As most olive oil ice cream recipes indicate, the key is using the most high-quality olive oil you can find. I splurged on this, but I think my olive oil still wasn't as high quality as some of the recommended brands. It still turned out delicious, so no big deal.

I don't have an ice cream maker, so I had to do it by hand. This actually isn't that hard (as I found out), it just takes a little time. I put the whole delicious slop into a flattish glass casserole dish and popped it in the freezer. I then mixed it up with an electric beater about every 30 minutes for 3-4 hours. It turned out delicious, creamy, and super smooth. When I have the time (and an empty enough freezer), I'll definitely be trying some of the variants . . . olive oil ice cream with blood oranges and olive oil gelato with balsamic strawberries. Mmm!

As you probably noticed, I am not exactly a professional photographer. My camera is also 6 years old, so the photos I post are not likely to be the highest-quality photography you have ever seen.

Also, I'm the type of person who doesn't really have an "off" switch when eating, and I'm not active enough not to worry overmuch about what I eat. Consequently, I'm generally hoping to provide calorie counts for the recipes I post. If you plan on splitting this into 8 portions as per the provided recipe (with the milk, not half and half), this clocks in at 371 calories per serving.