Mint-eriffic

Somerville, Mass - The ice cream maker is getting quite a workout this summer, as we have whipped up strawberry gelato, cherry walnut ice cream and tropical sorbet over the last few weeks. Still, until this week, the best ice cream I had had was the seasonal specialty, Fresh Mint, from Christina's in Inman Square.
Now, I know that the folks at Christina's are real professionals. They do this for a living and well, they are pretty darn good at it. It's well-known that Christina's is pretty much the best ice cream in the world, consistently winning Best in Boston. There are a few staples at Christina's that are hard to beat (eg, Coconut Almond), but the place also tempts you with seasonal specialties like Rose Petal in summer and Pumpkin in fall.
Anyway, I won't pretend that my homemade conconctions can compete with Christina's, but her Fresh Mint was so smooth and creamy and delicious that I just had to try to make it at home. Normally, I like mint (or mint-chip) ice cream okay, as long as it isn't green. I know that the food coloring probably does not affect the flavor, but the fake color really ruins it for me. Christina's version, however, is a soft creamy color with just a subtle hint of greenish hue, which is the natural coloration from the mint leaves.
Last weekend, we were having a few folks over for dinner to celebrate my cousin's birthday. My aunt promised to bring her famous (and delicious) chocolate cake, so I decided to attempt to make the fresh mint ice cream as a complement. What else am I going to do with the fresh mint leaves that are busting out of their pot on my back porch? (Note the little snail trying to get in on it.)

I think Christina's recipe is a closely-guarded secret, but I did find some alternatives on the internet. The challenge was that almost all of these recipes called for 4-6 eggs, and my guests were strict vegetarians who do not eat eggs.
I looked at a lot of recipes and finally came up with this amalgam. Apparently, soy acts as an emulsifier, so I substituted soy milk where other recipes called for regular milk. I added in the arrowroot to thicken it a bit, although I'm not sure that was even necessary. Note that my guests were NOT vegan, so I chose to keep heavy cream as an ingredient, in hopes of attaining the creamy quality that makes Christina's so divine. It worked! The end result was every bit as rich and creamy and delicious as I had hoped.

• 1-1/2 cup soy milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 tsp arrowroot
• 1-1/2 cup heavy cream

Heat soy milk over low heat. Stir in sugar and arrowroot until they dissolve. Add mint leaves and allow to simmer for 10-20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate soy milk and mint leaves mixture overnight. The next day, strain the milk mixture and discard mint leaves. Sir in cream and pour into your ice cream maker as per usual. As the churning finishes, you could also add in some dark chocolate chunks - if you're not planning to serve it with chocolate cake, that is. Freeze overnight. Then enjoy cool and creamy, mint-eriffic heaven!