I recently attended Texas Olive Harvest at Central Market, a cooking demonstration highlighting olive oils from the Texas Olive Ranch, the only olive oil producer in Texas that puts out 100% Texas-grown olive oil. We’ve been using their olive oil for a couple of months and love it.

Texas has thrown its hat into the olive oil ring with an estimated 500 tons of olives to be harvested this year! Leading the demo was Lou Lambert, Chef-Owner of Jo’s and Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue and Rebecca Rather, Chef-Owner of Rather Sweet Bakery in Fredericksburg. Their olive oil themed menu included:

Sea Salt Roasted Almonds
Shrimp Remoulade
Homemade Mayonnaise
Focaccia Bruschetta
Pan Seared Coriander Salmon with Fennel Salsa Verde
Braised Beef Tips with Button Mushrooms and Pearl Onions
Kalamata Olive Whipped Potatoes
Olive Oil Ice Cream with Balsamic Strawberries
Glazed Citrus Cookies

Putting olive oil in ice cream is a pretty unusual use (to me, anyway). But it ended up being my favorite dish of the night. A smooth, rich ice cream laced with the fruitiness of olive oil. It was paired with a Glazed Citrus Cookie that packed a citrusy punch to balance the richness of the ice cream.

At home, I chose to pair citrus and olive oil together in the ice cream using magical Meyer lemons. Served with a slice of citrusy angel food cake and fresh strawberry sauce, it was a fabulously bright and decadent dessert!

Print

Texas Olive Oil & Meyer Lemon Ice Cream

A smooth, creamy ice cream flavored with fruity Texas olive oil and Meyer lemons.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3/8 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Heat milk, cream, and lemon zest over medium heat until hot and bubbles form around the edge.
2. With a mixer, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt on high speed for 5 minutes until thickened and pale yellow. Reduce speed and drizzle in lemon juice and olive oil.
3. Slowly stream in the hot cream mixture until the side of the mixer bowl is warm.
4. Turn off the mixer and transfer the egg mixture back into the pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon or rubber spatula (if you're following along with a thermometer, the magic happens between 160-170F).
5. Pour through a strainer into a medium bowl. Refrigerate until very cold.
6. Transfer to ice cream maker and freeze according to your model's directions.

Notes

Yields: ~3 cups

Adapted from Rebecca Rather

Estimated time: 2 hours 30 minutes