Strawberry ice cream

(Serves 6)

500 g strawberries, rinsed and hulled
Thinly pared zest of half a lemon and half an orange
200 g caster sugar
300 ml milk
300 ml single or double cream
8 egg yolks
15 g glucose syrup (optional, for extra smoothness)

Gently heat the strawberries with the citrus zest and half the sugar until they collapse, about 3-4 minutes only, not enough to cook them, just to release their juice. Remove the zest and sieve the purée. Heat the milk and cream. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, remaining sugar and glucose, if using it. When warm, add a quarter of the cream to the egg mixture and thoroughly incorporate.

When the rest of the cream boils, pour it over the egg and cream mixture, beating continuously. Sieve the custard into a clean saucepan and cook gently until it will coat the back of a spoon. Cool, stir in the strawberry purée then freeze in an ice cream maker or in a container in the freezer. An ice cream maker will turn the mixture and make it smooth.

You will need to stir the mixture by hand or in a food processor during the freezing process for a really smooth ice cream if you freeze the mixture in a container.