Jessica Kruger: Easy ice cream for a scrumptious summer

My name is Jessica Kruger and in September 2014 I opened ETHOS - a fast casual dining concept just off Oxford Street, London. Since I became vegan in 2012, I found myself increasingly frustrated with the lack of exciting, interesting options when eating out, and so wanted to launch a meat-free restaurant that gave diners real choice.

At ETHOS we strive to create vibrant and deliciously different food, taking inspiration from across the world, and operating a pay-by-weight system giving customers real flexibility on what, and how much, they eat. Of course, to make sure our dishes look and taste as good as they can it’s important that we work around the seasons and this is something the chefs at the restaurant and I are always considering. For the next six months I’ll be sharing some of our favourite recipes in this blog, using a star seasonal ingredient, from the delightfully crisp and crunchy baby gem in the summer to heartier leeks, swedes and turnips in the colder months.

August's star ingredient:

Summer in the UK can be an unpredictable affair. As this year has shown, sun bathing can soon turn to shower sheltering and festivals can easily become water parks. Despite this, recent research has shown that ice cream sales are rising with £723 million spent on ice cream last year - that’s enough to fill more than seven cones for every person in the country! For my August recipe I wanted to celebrate this clearly loved British sweet treat and flavour it with a fruit that is great at this time of year, raspberry.

Many people don’t think ice cream is very easy to make or that you need an expensive ice cream machine to do so, but I hope this recipe proves neither is true. It’s suitable for those with a dairy free diet as well, so there really are no excuses not to give it a go. Serve it as an after-BBQ dessert, with a scrumptious cake or in cones for the kids and enjoy August with this fresh and delicious Raspberry Coconut Ice-Cream:

Ingredients (recipe makes 2.5 cups)

• 250g frozen raspberries
• 200ml full fat coconut cream from 1 can of coconut milk (see method for details)
• 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
• 70ml coconut water (from the can of coconut milk)

Method

1. The night before, place a can of coconut milk in the fridge, the next morning it will have split into the cream and coconut water needed for this recipe
2.  
3. Place the raspberries, coconut cream, which needs to be carefully scooped out of the can, and maple syrup in a blender or food processor
4. Start to blend whilst adding the coconut water a tablespoon at a time. Keep an eye on the ice cream and keep adding coconut water until it has reached the desired consistency. This amount can vary a lot so you may not need anywhere near the 70ml listed
5. Either serve the delicious ice cream straight away, or it can be frozen for up to two weeks, just remember to thaw it out for about an hour before serving

It really is that easy and makes a fantastic dessert! More of an ice-lolly fan? We’ve created some fantastic super food lollies at Ethos this summer, including a delicious mango and chia seed flavour. I hope you enjoy reading the recipes and please feel free to tweet us any finished dishes, questions or comments to @EthosFoods

The idea for ETHOS came about in 2012, when Australian born Jessica became a vegan and, despite her love of trying new foods and eating out, found herself increasingly frustrated with the lack of options available when dining out, especially in comparison to the rest of the world. Seeing a gap in the market, and at just 26 years old, Jessica was inspired to create a new all-day dining experience focused around a meat-free global menu that gives customers real choice in what they eat, how much they eat and how they pick and mix it. ETHOS opened in September 2014 and is a fast-casual dining concept, which focuses on deliciously different meat-free food from around the world, served in a sophisticated and contemporary setting.