The farmers market has been ripe with beets and strawberries.  I love the rich colors of both the golden beets, and the deep red beets, but my kids are certainly NOT fans.  Unable to resist these beauties, I found myself needing to figure out a way to use them that the kids would enjoy.

Enter, ice cream.  Just saying the word makes everyone happy and this recipe was no exception. This creamy, sweet dessert was chock full of fresh beets, but the strawberries gave the ice cream the “acceptable” dessert angle.  We served large scoops on cones to all the neighborhood kids and each and every bite was gobbled up.  Though I used golden beets for this recipe, the use of red beets would make for a beautiful, rich color.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Special Equipment:  Ice Cream maker

Ingredients:

• 4 beets
• 2 C half and half
• 3, 2″ strips lemon zest
• 1/2 vanilla bean pod
• 2 eggs
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 lb strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 C sugar, divided
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice, divided
• 3-4 Tbsp water

Directions:

For Beets:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Remove greens from beets (leaving 1/2 ” stalk at the top) and wash, scrubbing well.
• Place beets on large piece foil, and wrap into a packet.
• Roast beets in preheated oven for 50 minutes.

For Strawberries:

• Roughly chop strawberries and place in medium bowl.
• Add 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/4 C sugar.
• Mix to combine and set aside.

Meanwhile:

• Pour half and half into a medium saucepan.  Add salt, lemon zest and vanilla bean pod.  Heat over medium-low heat until steaming, stirring occasionally.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and 1/2 C sugar.
• Remove  lemon zest and vanilla bean pod from half and half.  Slowly ladle steaming half and half into the egg mixture, one ladle at a time, whisking constantly.  Return half and half & egg mixture to saucepan and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon until thickened.  Pour into metal bowl and set aside.
• When beets are cooked (easily pierced with a knife), cool slightly, then holding in a paper towel, gently remove skins (they should peel right off).  Trim top of beet to remove stalks.
• Place beets, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 3 Tbsp water (more can be added if needed) and 1/4 C sugar into the blender.  Puree until liquified and no large chunks remain.
• Add beet puree to custard and chill until cool (1-2 hours)
• Remove custard from refrigerator, stir in strawberries and their juices and freeze according to ice cream maker’s instructions.
• Place in container and place in freezer until hardened.