“I love contrasting flavours and textures, such as fruit with salt and chilli, which is very South East Asian,” says Anchovy chef Thi Le. “The pepper ice-cream offers this contrast of heat and sweetness. The roasty flavour of peppercorns with fresh fruit like strawberries or watermelon makes a great match. I’d been toying with the idea of a pepper ice-cream for a few years but it was not till I discovered kampot red peppercorns that the dessert really came to life.”
Ingredients
Kampot pepper ice-cream
Method
Main
1.For kampot pepper ice-cream, dry-roast peppercorns in a saucepan over medium-high heat until fragrant (1½-2 minutes; see cook’s notes p200). Remove from pan, cool for 5 minutes, then finely grind in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Transfer to a saucepan, add milk and cream and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk sugar and egg yolks in a bowl until pale (30 seconds to 1 minute), then, whisking continuously, gradually add milk mixture. Return to pan over low heat and stir continuously until mixture reaches 82C on a sugar thermometer and just coats the spoon (10-15 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl placed over iced water and stir occasionally until chilled (1-1½ hours). Churn in an ice-cream machine and freeze until required. This is best served on the day it’s made.
2.Combine strawberries, Grand Marnier and sugar in a bowl, and stand for strawberries to macerate and release juices (15-20 minutes). Serve strawberries with a scoop of kampot pepper ice-cream.
Kampot peppercorns are available from Herbie’s Spices (herbies.com.au) and select Asian supermarkets.
Drink Suggestion: Wine suggestion Liquid Rock ‘n’ Roll “Sweet Soul” Gewürztraminer Ice Wine 2014, King Valley – this ice wine-styled sticky has mountains of complexity, and classic Gewürz-like spice, plus a balance of ripe fruit intensity and underlying acidity Drink suggestion by Andrew Barry
