Gelato al Vino Rosso e Fichi

I like desserts with red wine, and by that I mean desserts that have red wine in them. Like this Torta Ubriaca, a red wine-spiked chocolate cake from Abruzzo; and the red wine-chocolate budino (pudding) from my book Williams-Sonoma Rustic Italian. Now I’ve gone and added red wine to fig ice cream.

And what a good move it was. Red wine and figs belong together. Wine enhances the fruit’s own notes of honey and berry, while adding depth and a splash of sophistication. It makes for pretty ice cream, too, the wine-plumped figs adding a blush of rose.

This is a no-churn ice cream, as easy to make as mashing up some fruit and whipping cold cream. I used my recipe for No-Churn Fig and Amaretto Ice Cream as the template (that’s another good one, if you haven’t yet tried it). As with that recipe, any fig variety will do here, though the darker-skinned ones will give you those gorgeous ruby flecks. I used brown turkey figs from my trusty little tree. The figs are only so-so eaten out of hand, but they make terrific preserves and desserts.

GELATO AL VINO ROSSO E FICHI | RED WINE AND FIG ICE CREAM
Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients
1 pound ripe figs, such as brown turkey, quartered (tips removed)
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup dry red wine
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 pint heavy cream, chilled (see NOTE)
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions
1. Place a metal loaf pan into the freezer to chill.

2. Combine the figs, sugar, and lemon juice in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set the saucepan over medium heat use a potato masher to mash up the fruit a bit as it starts to heat up. Bring to a simmer and cook at a gentle simmer for about 5 minutes, just to slightly soften the figs. Raise the heat to medium and pour in the wine. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until most of the wine has been absorbed and what’s left has thickened to a light syrupy consistency. Lower the heat if necessary to prevent scorching.

3. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the cinnamon. Let cool for 30 minutes, or until it reaches room temperature, then whisk in the condensed milk.

4. Whip the chilled cream until it just begins to thicken. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract and whip to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the fig and condensed milk mixture. Scrape the mixture into the chilled loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spatula. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (I secure the wrap onto the pan with a rubber band). Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.

5. To serve, remove the ice cream from the freezer 5 to 10 minutes ahead of time to let it soften a bit before scooping. Garnish each serving with fresh fig halves. (This ice cream is also delicious drizzled with bittersweet chocolate sauce.)

NOTE: When whipping cream, it’s best to start off with everything cold: chill the bowl and the beaters in the freezer for about 30 minutes, and make sure the cream is straight out of the refrigerator when you whip it.