White Asparagus Icecream without an ice cream maker

A tasty way to eat your veg!

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White Asparagus Ice Cream

Adapted from Susi Diaz’s recipe - no churn or ice cream machine required.

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White Asparagus Ice Cream. One of the first recipes I learnt while working at La Finca, (Michelin star) in Spain - here adapted for the home cook who doesn’t have a Pacojet, or an ice-cream maker.

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Makes 500ml ice cream

Ingredients

For the Asparagus cream
50g onion
30g butter
10g cider vinegar
250g white asparagus (tinned)

For the Ice cream
100g dextrose
8g ice cream stabiliser
1g salt
225ml milk
100g greek yoghurt
125g crème fraiche (30 percent fat)

To Serve
Green asparagus
Pistachio
Pine nuts

Step 1: Make the Asparagus Cream

Here’s how

1. Dice the onion. Gently sweat the onion in the butter, until lightly coloured.

2. Add the cider vinegar and cook down for a few more minutes.

3. Drain the white asparagus, and add to the onions. Blitz until really (really) smooth with a hand blender.

4. Cool the mixture and reserve.

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Step 2: Make the Ice Cream

Here’s how

1. Thoroughly mix all the dry ingredients (dextrose, stabilisers, salt) in a saucepan.

2. Once well mixed, hydrate adding the milk, greek yoghurt and creme fraiche and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

3. Heat, whisking continuously, to 85C, then cool quickly.

4. Add the asparagus cream to the ice cream mix. Blitz with a hand blender and pour into a glass or metal container. Pop the lid on and freeze.

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Keep in Mind

• By heating the liquid, the stabliser is activated - so don’t skip this step.

• Dextrose is used instead of white sugar, as it helps impede the formation of ice-crystals

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Step 3: Blitz Twice

Here’s how

1. After 90 minutes, remove from freezer and pour the slushy mixture into a food processor and blend until smooth, replace in freezer.

2. After 24 hours, repeat step one, blending again until smooth, and return to the freezer.

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Step 4: Plate up!

Here’s how

1. Blanche the green asparagus in boiling water for 2 minutes, then refresh in ice cold water. Slice the stalk to circles.

2. Toast the pine nuts in a pan, with sea salt.

3. Crush the pistachios, lightly with a pestle and mortar.

4. Make a base of green asparagus circles, toasted pine nuts and pistachios and add a scoop of white asparagus ice cream on top.

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Olympian Kitchen is written by Nicola Fairbrother MBE, 8th Dan, Olympic silver medallist.

More about my work and me. I’m Nicola Fairbrother. I’m a double Olympian (Barcelona 1992 Silver and Atlanta 1996 5th), light-weight World Champion (1993), triple European Champion, voted by Sunday Times as Sportswoman of the Year and awarded a MBE by HM The Queen. I publish a range of children’s judo books (Koka Kids) and run another substack delivering judo coaching resources. I’m a trained chef (Leiths Professional Diploma) and have completed a 100 day chef-stage in Spanish Michelin kitchens.

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