A Sustainable Spring Desert: Ricotta Gelato Sundae with Apple Compote

 

Our New Yorker friends over at Not Eating Out in NY have issued a blogging challenge this week: to come up with a blog post and recipe that tackles the theme, "Sustainable Spring." We thought this was pretty fitting. After having just read Michael Pollen's book and being on our current sustainable, whole foods kick, we've been focusing quite a lot on these sorts of meals lately. Plus, the prize for the competition seems pretty great: a seat at an upcoming food blogging class as well as a $50 certificate towards any class at Ger-Nis. So we figured, why not go ahead and devote a post to this competition and see how we do?

Who could say no to me?

We've spent the last couple of weekends, when it wasn't too cold out, at some local farmer's markets. We've really enjoyed this experience and plan on making a habit of it over the course of the year. The food is all grown by local farmers who take a lot of pride in their work and are happy to chat about their products. We've found amazing grass-fed and grass-finished beef, tons of yummy vegetables (mostly root vegetables, since it's pretty early in the season), and some great breads and other fun things like garlic butters and cheeses. It's the kind of food we really feel good about when we eat too, because we know it's grown locally and in a sustainable fashion.

So given this recent obsession of ours, we have a lot of potential submissions to choose from. We thought about submitting our delicious braised lamb shanks with the parsnip purée and beet salad. That was certainly yummy, sustainable, and the parsnip purée was, if we don't say so ourselves, pretty inventive!

Our lamb shanks with farm fresh vegetables. 

We also thought about submitting the wonderful, flavorful, enormous burgers with sundried tomato and basil aioli. The beef we used from that came from a local farmer, the challah by a local baker, and the side veggies from a local farmer.

The only thing unsustainable about these is how enormous they are.

But, while both of those were delicious, feel good plates that capture the essence of sustainable spring, they don't come nearly as close to satisfying our taste buds, and sweet tooth, as the Ricotta Gelato Apple Sundae we made last night.

We combined farm fresh milk with local apples and fresh, local brioche, to make an unbelievably delicious desert (and as anybody who watches Chopped knows, making an ice cream for your desert is a surefire way to win a competition, which is what convinced us to submit this recipe!).

Farm fresh, creamy, delicious milk. 

Let's start with the farm fresh milk - you just don't get milk like this from the supermarket. It's creamy, smooth, and luscious. The apples were crispy, tart, and bursting with flavor. And the brioche, crafted by a local artisan, was to die for.

Scooping the creamy local ricotta into the measuring cup. 

Making the ricotta gelato is somewhat complex, so we'll do a more in depth post on it at a later date. It's basically vanilla gelato, with a cup of ricotta and a zest of lemon blended into it. After you make your gelato base but before churning it in your ice cream maker, blend in the ricotta with an immersion blender, and then run the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Then churn like you normally would. Let it "ripen" in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving.

Straining the blended mix. 

To make the apple topping, take an apple, peel, and core it. In a small saucepan, combine a tablespoon of farm fresh local butter and a 1/4 cup of brown sugar over low heat. This will take a little bit as the caramel forms. Once it is well blended, throw in your apples and raise the heat a little bit.

Brown sugar and butter - a glorious combination.

Add in a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg, and stir and blend. Cook till the apples are soft, and then remove from heat.

The finished apple mix. Farm fresh AND delicious. 

Finally, in a non-stick pan, melt another tablespoon (or two) of your farm fresh local butter over medium low heat. Then place in a thick slice of your brioche and cook until brown. Flip, and brown the other side as well.

Toasting up some locally made, fresh, brioche in farm fresh butter. 

Plate the dish by placing the brioche on the bottom, drizzling some of the apple mixture all over, scooping on your ricotta gelato, and then covering the whole thing with the rest of the apple mixture.

Drizzling some of the apple mixture onto the toasted brioche. 

The Result
This is a wonderful desert that proves that sustainable spring can be good for the environment and good for your soul (and not always good for your waistline)! This isn't the kind of thing we'd do every day, but for a special occasion, or an awesome competition, it's certainly worth bringing out! Hopefully the competition judges agree! :)

What's your favorite desert? Let us know in the comments below!

Full recipe after the break!

Ricotta Gelato and Apple Sundae


(Serves 2)

2 cups, ricotta
1 lemon, zested
1 quart, vanilla gelato mix
2 slices, fresh brioche
1 apple, cored and peeled
1/2 cup, brown sugar
3 tablespoons, butter
1 teaspoon, cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon, nutmeg