Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh mint leaves – lightly bruised
• 1.5 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 0.75 cups granulated sugar
• 0.25 tsp fine salt
• 6 large egg yolks
• 0.5 tsp peppermint extract
• 4 drops green food coloring
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate – finely chopped

Instructions

1. Bruise fresh mint leaves between your fingers, then combine with whole milk, heavy cream, granulated sugar, and fine salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium until steaming but not boiling, 3–5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and steep until the mixture smells strongly of mint, 45–60 minutes.
2. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a clean saucepan and pour the mixture through, pressing on the solids to extract flavor; discard the solids. Warm the strained dairy over medium until steaming again.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks until smooth. While whisking constantly, slowly ladle in about 1 cup of the hot dairy to temper, then scrape the yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
4. Cook over medium-low, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula and scraping the bottom and corners, until the custard reaches 170–175°F and coats the back of the spatula, 5–8 minutes; do not boil.
5. Strain through a clean sieve into a bowl set over an ice bath, then stir in peppermint extract and green food coloring (if using). Stir occasionally until cool to the touch, 10–15 minutes.
6. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, 3–4 hours or overnight, until the base is 39°F or colder.
7. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer instructions until it reaches soft-serve consistency, 15–25 minutes.
8. Melt bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water (or in short microwave bursts), stirring until smooth, then let cool until just slightly warm but still fluid, about 5 minutes.
9. With the machine running, drizzle the melted chocolate in a very thin stream so it shatters into fine chips; churn 1 minute more to distribute evenly.
10. Transfer to a lidded container, press parchment directly on the surface, seal, and freeze until firm enough to scoop, 2–4 hours. Scoop and serve.