Lemon Verbena Ice Cream and Poached Peaches

I'm on the look out for anything with peaches and anything with lemon verbena since our peaches are ripening and  my potager is over flowing with lemon verbena.

Tartlette blog  is my new favorite blog because she has the neatest recipes and the coolest food pictures. Incredibly inspiring.  Instead of getting ready for tomorrow's market, I'm indulging in drooling through her blog posts and particularly her recipe (which I posted here) on Lemon Verbena Ice Cream and Poached Peaches. 


Recently, I found a - just about brand new - ice cream maker and this recipe sounds perfect for my first try at the farm's home made ice cream!  


Oh, I'll be selling lemon verbena at the market this week!  


Lemon Verbena Ice Cream And Poached Peaches:
Serves 8

For the lemon verbena ice cream:

4 egg yolks
1 cup (100gr) sugar
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
1 small handful lemon verbena leaves.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and one cup of sugar until pale and thick. In a saucepan set over medium heat, bring the cream, milk, and lemon verbena to a simmer, without letting it come to a full boil. Slowly pour the hot cream over the egg yolks mixture while whisking to temper the egg yolks. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cream coats the back of spoon. It should register 170F on a candy thermometer. At this point you have made a custard sauce, also known as "creme anglaise". Let cool completely, and refrigerate until cold.
Once the custard is cold, strain and process according to your ice cream maker manufacturer's instructions.

For the poached peaches:
4 peaches
1 vanilla bean split in half
juice of one lemon

Prepare the peaches:
Place the peaches, vanilla bean, lemon juice and enough water to cover them in a tall saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Lower the heat and let them simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the peaches are just soft (poke with a toothpick to check).
Remove from the water using a slotted spoon and allow to cool on paper towel or baking rack.

To plate: cut each peach into thin slices and serve with a generous scoop of ice cream. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios if desired.