This summer has been filled with celebrations and wonderful gatherings. My parents celebrated their 40^th wedding anniversary, my husband and sister both turned 35, I had a birthday, my husband’s parents had birthdays, and my niece turned a whopping 3 years old. Best of all, my niece celebrated her birthday here in Norway with us. And on top of all the gaiety from the local festivals and visits from friends and family, including trips around western and southern Norway, North Wild Kitchen became a finalist in the Saveur magazine Blog Awards 2016 for Best New Voice. And my recipe for rommegrøt ice cream was named This Year’s Hit by Tine rømme-partner. It’s been quite a summer, to say the least.

And while I had planned on posting this recipe this week anyway, it seems more pertinent now following so many celebratory moments. But then again, that’s what this recipe is all about. It’s jovial.

This recipe is the brainchild of my clever sister who, like myself, loves to take an ingredient or two and create from that. She and her husband and my niece flew out to see us this July and there was no question that we would be together in the kitchen creating something to put on the blog. With my niece’s birthday just around the corner, we wanted to make something that was as every bit about her as our time together in Norway. Luckily for us, all she wanted was her birthday dessert to feature strawberries.

Strawberry season runs from July to August, just before the touch of autumn stretches its arms across Norway. Here in the mountainous region of Numedal, Norway, we are spoiled for choice. Picking and eating wild berries becomes a daily afterthought; a part of each day’s routine as we take a walk and stumble across seemingly endless supplies of them. It is the time when Norwegians indulge in their fresh flavors and begin to preserve and store for the upcoming seasons. The cooler summer temperatures and abundance of light create the perfect growing environment so the strawberries stay on the vine longer, ripening into berries that burst with sweetness and have a vibrant red color. Wild strawberries (markjordbær), small and intense in flavor, dot along the forest’s floor and become a game for kids and adults alike to gather and saver.

With a marzipan cake in hand for the birthday girl, the only thing left to make was an accompaniment of ice cream featuring strawberries. So, off for a walk we went with the kids to gather wild berries. My sister had come across an idea for roasted strawberry ice cream and tweaked it into her own marvellous  creation with a burst of lemon and the addition of strawberry pieces folded into the creamy mixture. Mind you, the kids ate most of the wild strawberries we collected, so we ended up using larger, cultivated ones from the local market. And the taste was incredible and birthday girl approved!

This ice cream is truly divine and speaks of Norwegian strawberries and summertime. Roasting the strawberries brings out more of the flavor and the lemon takes it up a notch in elegance and taste. It’s  perfect on its own, in a cone or better yet, topped on fresh, Norwegian waffles. You can refer to my recipe for aniseed waffles, which pair well with the strawberry and lemon flavors. Waffles and ice cream – a delightful way to celebrate any occasion! Many thanks to my wonderful sister, Sarah, for making this fantastic -Norwegian inspired – treat! ♥

Roasted Strawberry & Lemon Ice Cream  (Jordbær Iskrem)

Ingredients:

Ice Cream

• 1 1/4 cup (3 dl) heavy cream
• 1/3 tsp lemon zest  (if you prefer a more lemony flavor, add  3/4 tsp)
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 egg yolks (we used fresh eggs from the hens out back)
• 1 1/4 cup (3 dl)  buttermilk (if you do not have access to buttermilk, you can add 1/2T and 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice to whole milk)

Roasted Strawberries 

• 2 cups (400g) fresh strawberries, diced
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375°F /190°C. In a glass roasting dish, place strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice and mix until evenly coated. Then place the pan in the oven and roast for roughly 10-12 minutes. After it is done roasting you will want to puree the mixture. (You will have leftovers that can be used as well for a topping on Norwegian waffles).

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan add the cream, lemon zest, sugar, and salt and bring to a low simmer so that all the sugar is melted. Reduce to a low temperature and cover the saucepan with a lid. Cook the mixture for roughly 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the mixture from the heat, and in a small bowl add the egg yolks. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup of the cream mixture to temper the eggs (the last thing you want is cooked egg yolk ice cream). Once the eggs are brought to temperature, slowly whisk the egg mixture back into the pan, and place back on medium heat. You will want to cook the mixture until it starts to thicken slightly, or coats the spoon. This process should take about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally.

Once the mixture has slightly thickened, remove from heat and add the buttermilk. After you have mixed in the buttermilk, place a strainer over a bowl and pour the mixture through. This will remove any lumps that may have occurred, or any cooked egg. In the bowl, add 1/2 cup of the strawberry puree. Mix well and then cover bowl.

Chill overnight, and then follow your ice cream machine directions on making the finished product. We added diced fresh strawberries (3/4 cup) right before the ice cream was finished to give it some texture.

*My sister started a food blog awhile back and promised to get back to it now that she’s not juggling a master’s degree, full-time job, little girl and everything else in between. She’s a superhuman, basically. You can check out her recipes and gluten-free approach at Kitchen Sherers.