ice cream

Thoroughly wash the nettle leaves. Always wear gardening gloves or double latex gloves when handling nettles. Use scissors to snip the leaves directly from the stalks.
Using a clean tea towel or cloth, wring out as much water as possible until you are left with a dry nettle pulp. Lightly run a knife through the pulp to finely chop it.
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and caster sugar until combined. There is no need to over-whisk, as the aim is not to incorporate air.
Place the whole milk, liquid glucose and salt in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to the boil.
Gradually pour the hot milk mixture over the egg yolks, whisking constantly until fully incorporated.
Return the mixture to the pan and cook gently over a low to medium heat, stirring continuously, until the custard reaches 86°C. This gives the ice cream body and properly cooks the proteins.
As soon as the custard reaches 86°C, remove it from the heat. Pass it through a fine sieve into a bowl set over ice to cool quickly and stop the cooking process.
Once the ice cream base has cooled, place the chopped nettle pulp into a blender.
Pour the cooled custard base over the nettles and blend thoroughly until the mixture turns a vibrant green.
Pass the mixture through a fine sieve again to remove any remaining nettle fibres or impurities.
Transfer the custard to an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Store in a suitable container in the freezer until ready to serve.