To me, recipe development is like painting a picture, where food is its colors while imagination is its brush. With this approach, anything is possible! And of course, knowledge of culinary techniques comes in handy in recipe development.

Let’s take this savory pesto frozen yogurt as an example. I developed it thanks to my imagination coupled with the technique used in ice cream making. I learned it long ago that constant churning has one amazing quality: as it churns, it incorporates air, thus moving crystals away from each other, resulting in a smoother texture. Besides, churning makes water in the ice cream mixture to form lots of tiny crystals. For example, if you make the same ice cream base and freeze half as a popsicle and run another half in an ice cream maker you will see the difference. The popsicle texture will come out much harder comparing to the mixture run in an ice cream maker, even with similar ingredients being used. This is because crystals in popsicles are much larger plus they are glued to each other, resulting in a harder texture. This observation made me think “what about churning something else instead of ice creams?” This is how I started churning smoothies and juices until one day I came up with the idea of churning sauces!

Sounds crazy, eh? I thought about sauces and dressings as, a priori, they have so much flavor! That made me wonder whether passing those through an ice cream maker, based on the earlier mentioned facts, could be the beginning of something new and intriguing? So the experimenting has begun! I haven’t seen any recipes of this kind, so I proceeded with caution and curiosity at the same time. As I often make pesto sauce, it was the very first savory flavor that I’ve created and guess what? It worked from the very first time! I started by diluting pesto sauce with coconut milk and, with addition of a few pinches of salt, it passed the tasting test. Then I ran it in an ice cream maker and the resulting end product was a savory frozen phenomenon that I called “ice cream” dressing! Later on I came up with savory frozen yogurts, by slightly modifying the initial technique. Both of these techniques are included in my cookbook “Zesty Scoop.” Besides, one of its variations, Savory Pesto “Ice Cream” Dressing is included in my contribution cookbook “Freezer Cooking for the Paleo AIP.” The book that I highly recommend!

But let’s get back to this particular recipe. What do I love the most about this savory pesto frozen yogurt? Apart from the ease of preparation, it takes care of my cheese cravings: savory and flavorful, it makes a nice condiment to enjoy with salads, instead if cheese. Indeed, this savory pesto frozen yogurt reignites my love for cheese and pesto! Beyond salads, I like to use it with seafood, such as fish, oysters, mussels & as a topping for summer soups. And, I am still exploring other ways to use this (as well as other recipes) from my cookbook.

Speaking of my book, this savory frozen yogurt was one of the first recipes that I’ve developed. It was one of those recipes, development of which made me think about writing “Zesty Scoop”, to share my favorite frozen creations. Inside, apart from savory ice creams, sorbets and frozen yogurts you will also find “zesty” sweet scoops that you can enjoy “as is” or as refreshing condiments for your meals. Have you already got my cookbook? If so, I would love to hear from you! Share your creative ways of using sweet and savory scoops on Instagram via hashtags #zestyscoop, #zestypaleo, #icecreamdressings or else #frozendressings.

Savory Pesto Frozen Yogurt

 

Save Print

Author: Zesty Paleo

Serves: 3 cups

Ingredients

• Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
• 1 cup AIP-friendly pesto (basil, mint, parsley, etc.)
• 1 cup coconut cream (or full-fat coconut milk)*
• 1 cup coconut yogurt
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and purée until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste.
2. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
3. Transfer the yogurt to a freezer-safe container and freeze for a few hours or until firm.
4. Before serving, thaw the yogurt for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature or transfer the yogurt from the freezer to the fridge and let it thaw for at least one hour.
5. To serve, place 1 scoop of the yogurt on top of your favorite salad.

Notes

* Alternatively replace it with one more cup of coconut yogurt.

3.5.3208

ZESTY SCOOP COOKBOOK
It’s a collection of frozen “n’ice cream” dressings & desserts
to “zest up” paleo and AIP meals!