Cinnamon and Tahini Ice Cream with Moroccan Oranges

I’ve got some of my favourite people coming for supper tomorrow night and I’m going to enjoy spending time in the kitchen over the next 24 hours getting ready. Dessert will be a plate of Moroccan Oranges and a friend who is an excellent baker is bringing an orange and rosemary polenta cake. I wanted to make an ice cream to complement both choices. This started off as a plain cinnamon ice cream but in the process I decided it might be a bit dull so decided to add a huge dollop of tahini paste to the mixture. I’ve literally just taken the result out of the ice cream maker and it’s heaven! So I had to share…

Ingredients

• 150ml whole milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 50 – 80g xylitol (depending on the sweetness of your tooth)
• 2 tbsp (to taste) tahini paste
• 1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
• 400ml double cream
• 200ml Greek yoghurt

Method

1. Make the ice cream the day before you want to eat it (or longer).
2. Over a low heat, warm the milk with the xylitol and cinnamon stick and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Leave this mixture to infuse for a few hours until it’s completely cool.
4. Drain the milk and combine with all the other ingredients in the bowl of your ice cream maker
5. Churn according to instructions.
6. Place in the freezer until needed and remove at least 30 minutes before you want to serve it.

Dairy Free Version

• substitute soya or almond milk for the whole milk
• coconut milk instead of double cream
• soya yoghurt or CoYo instead of Greek yoghurt.

For the Moroccan Oranges

Ingredients

• 4 oranges (for 6 people)
• handful of mint leaves or rose petals
• few drops of rose water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch chilli powder
• 1 tbsp ground almonds
• 1 tbsp flaked almonds or chopped hazelnuts

Method

1. Using a sharp knife take the top and bottom off the whole oranges.
2. Place the oranges on a chopping board and skin them with the knife all the way round. Don’t worry if there are still a few bits of pith on there – it’s full of bioflavonoids and very good for you!
3. Slice into ‘wheels’ about half a centimetre thick, and place decoratively on a plate with a few mint leaves – or some rose petals if you have them.
4. Sprinkle the oranges with a few drops of rosewater
5. Mix the cinnamon & chilli powder with the ground almonds and chopped nuts.
6. Sprinkle this mixture sparingly over the top of the oranges just before serving.