Fresh mint and chocolate chip ice cream

1 Roughly tear the mint into a large pan. Add the milk and cream, then put the pan over a medium-high heat until the mixture is steaming; don’t let it boil. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 1 hour.

2 Strain the cream mixture through a sieve, pressing down on the mint to extract as much flavour as possible. Discard the mint, return the mixture to the pan and gently heat through. Put the yolks, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of sea salt in a large bowl; use electric beaters to whisk together until thick, pale and at the ‘ribbon stage’ (when lifted out, the beaters should leave a ribbon-like trail of mixture on the surface, which lingers for a few seconds). Start to whisk in the hot cream slowly, a ladleful at a time, until you’ve added about ½. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan containing the remaining minty cream; stir together. Reduce the heat to low; cook for about 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain through the sieve and leave to cool. Chill for at least 4 hours.

3 Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions, adding the chopped chocolate for the last 5 minutes. Spoon into a lidded freezeproof container and freeze until ready to serve. (If you don’t have a machine, add the chocolate to the chilled mixture, pour into a freezeproof container and freeze for 3 hours. Whisk vigorously or whizz in a food processor to break down any ice crystals. Repeat the freezing and whisking twice more until the mixture is very thick, then freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.) It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.