this recipe has been influenced quite a bit by the quintessential indian frozen ice cream kulfi and uses the worlds most expensive spice saffron for flavoring and coloring.
Saffron if you dint know comes form the crocusplant, and is the stigma of the purple flower which grows on the plant. because its so tiny and delicate it has to be handpicked and since you only get 3 per flower, so pushed the prices ridiculously high. but nothing compares to the aroma and color that you can get from using really good saffron. you get some very good saffrom from iran, the worlds largest producer and the best quality saffron to look for is called sargol, which is the all red part of the stigma, with maximum color and aroma.
anyway after all that info, lets get down to business.
creme anglaise/ english custard
250 ml milk or half milk and half cream like we did
4 egg yolks
120 gm sugar
7-8 strands of saffron / more is not good, can get bitter and too much toxic(really).
100 gms of crushed pistachio nuts lightly toasted
combine the egg yolks with the sugar. warm the milk and add it to the egg and sugar mix. mix in well, but dont whisk it too much, otherwise it gets to foamy and then its difficult to see whether it has been cooked to the right degree.strain to get rid of any shell fragments and get a smoother texture.
put on a very very very low heat. if in doubt, then use a double boiler. cook till the mixture starts to thicken .at this stage you could add in the saffron just as it is or lightly toasted(10seconds in the microwave). take it off the fire, when it has thickened enough to coat the back of spoon with. cool down and either churn in the ice cream machine or put in the freezer and take out every half hour or so and give it a good whisking then . when its half set add int he pistachio and freeze.
use with abandon !!
