GLUTEN FREE – NUT FREE – SOY FREE – SERVES 8
It seems as if this cardamom run won’t be ending any time soon. There are certain herbs, spices, or even foods that I can get obsessed about for a little while, and for however long that period will last you’ll find me adding my temporary obsession to everything I’ll cook.
Currently my obsession is the magical combination of cardamom and orange blossom water. The two flavors simply blend together, and the result is something so delicious, fresh, and wholesome at the same time.
Inspired by the flavors and scents of the Middle East this ice cream comes together quickly, with the process resembling that of banana nice cream or frozen smoothie bowls. All you have to do is freeze some ingredients and then blend them up. If you find these flavors too strong, or you don’t have them in hand, I suggest you swap the orange blossom water for vanilla and cardamom for cinnamon. Both will give you delicious ice cream.
Ingredients
500g figs
100g plain unsweetened coconut or soy yogurt
35g maple syrup
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1\2 big lemon
3 ground cardamom pods or 1\2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp Orange blossom flower water
1 small pinch of salt
Method
Peel the figs and place them in a bowl in the freezer overnight or until frozen. Once the figs are completely frozen add to a food processor, or high-speed blender, all of the ingredients. Start blending and help yourself with a spatula or spoon to move the ice cream around until the figs have become smooth and creamy.
Depending on the machinery you have, and how long it took to blend the fruit, by the time the ice cream is ready it might have started to melt a bit. In this case, you can transfer it to the freezer and let it refrigerate for a couple of hours.
You can serve the ice cream simple and plain, or be creative and add fresh figs, granola, or like in the photo decorated with dry or fresh wisteria flowers.
Like acacia or elderflower wisteria flowers can be eaten fresh out of the plant or dried as a salad decoration or in this case ice cream. Wisteria flowers have a beautiful purple color, the wisteria plant blossoms around May but its flowers can be found up until the end of June or the beginning of August