Roasted Pear and Toasted Pecan Ice Cream

Three more weeks.  I keep on having to repeat that to myself over and over… only three more weeks until I will (hopefully) start reintegrating gluten and dairy.  My doctor thinks I am sensitive to one of the two and I need to "cleanse" my system more before I nosh on a hunk of bread or block of cheese.  While I wouldn't call my current diet ideal, not being able to have dairy hasn't been too hard.  I've known for a while I'm lactose intolerant.  I mean, haven't you noticed that 99.9% of my recipes use a milk substitute?  But what has been hard is finding a soy ice cream without brown rice syrup.

You'd think having the word rice in the name would mean it was gluten free.  You'd be wrong.  It's one of those sneaky glutenous ingredients.  So, if I can't buy it I'll make it!  I had some pears that were at the edge of being over ripe and a craving for some ice cream.

 When you make this ice cream (which I highly recommend) make sure you set aside a chuck a time.  While not being labor intensive, there is a lot of down time.  At least at the end of it all, your house will smell like roasted pears, toasted pecans and you will be snacking on some freshly turned ice cream.

Roasted Pear and Toasted Pecan Ice Cream
Adapted from Kitchen Wench
Ingredients

• 4 large ripe pears
• 2 cups full fat coconut milk
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed firmly
• 1 cup roughly chopped pecan praline (or plain toasted pecans if you prefer)
• 1 cup toasted pecans

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Core pears and cut into quarters
2. Line them on a baking tray with the inner side up and bake for approximately 1 hour, or till a knife can be inserted into the thickest segment with no resistance. Set aside and allow the roasted pears to cool.
3. While the pears are roasting, combine the coconut and almond milk with the brown sugar and cinnamon in a pot and stir over a low heat till the sugar is completely dissolved. When the sugar has dissolved, set the mixture aside for 30 minutes to allow the cinnamon to infuse.
4. Once the roasted pears are cool, gently mash them with a fork and if you like, puree with an immersion blender.
5.  Add the mashed pear to the cream and stir thoroughly to combine. Place the mixture in the fridge for at least 1 hour or till chilled, then pour into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s directions. Once the mixture begins to transform from liquid to ice cream, add in the toasted pecans.