Recipe – Vanilla Honey Ricotta Ice Cream From Guest Chef at Rancho La Puerta

Who knew that ice cream, a favorite of the Hill Team, could ever taste this delicious? Of course when you add our other passion, cheese, it is no wonder we are still swooning.

This recipe comes from a hands on cooking class given last month at Rancho La Puerta by visiting chef and teacher Andrew Schloss.

Vanilla Honey Ricotta Ice Cream

Ingredients

I container (l5 ounces) whole milk ricotta cheese

1 cup honey

Pinch of salt

1 pint heavy cream

l l/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

In a food processor, combine ricotta, honey and salt.
Puree until completely smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Add the cream and vanilla and pulse until blended.
Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container and press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface.
Cover with a tight fitting plastic lid and freeze until serving, up to 3 days.

Trust us, this ice cream will never last even one day. It makes about 4 cups and will gone at first taste.

Maralyn and Brenda included a recipe for beer (Guinness) ice cream in their first chef book. It turned out to be one of the most requested recipes. Chef Schloss has come up with one we love even more.

Besides his innovative recipes, Chef Schloss has an ability to explain technical aspects of cooking in understandable terms. Andrew is the author of l5 cook books, including “Mastering the Grill,” an award winner that is a New York Times best seller. Andrew has taught cooking at the CIA and the Copia Center, both in California. He and his charming wife, Karen, reside in Pennsylvania.

We first met him at La Cocina Que Canta, the kitchen that sings, cooking school and culinary center at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico. Before he fired up the grills to demonstrate grilled winter vegetables, long time Ranch La Puerta master gardener, Salvatore, led the way to the acres of organic gardens, named Tres Estrellas, to forage and choose our own radicchio, fennel, and the sweetest garlic we ever tasted.

But back to the ice cream, smooth, creamy, and a cheese lovers dream. Chef Schloss paired the cold ice cream with warm barbecued balsamic pears to add another twist to his taste sensations.