Low Carb Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Pistachio and Rosemary

I’ve been looking for something to pair with salted caramel ice cream, but most incarnations offer it as-is. Okay, some add butter in the mix, but no solids...until I found this recipe: Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Pistachio. What made this recipe interesting was the addition of fresh rosemary. It sounds unappetizing, but the creator kinda sold me on it.

Like in my Low Carb Pistachio Ice Cream recipe before, I highly recommend Trader Joe’s Pistachio Nutmeats. They’re already shelled, dry roasted, and salted. Half a bag is all you need for this recipe, which is why I specify 4 ounces in the ingredients.

I was surprised that I was able to find fresh spices at my local supermarket. I found it in the produce isle and as you can see, it comes on the branch. (I’ve also seen fresh spices in Trader Joe’s in case your local supermarket doesn’t.)

A one quarter ounce package yields over a tablespoon of chopped rosemary. I seriously doubt dried rosemary would work well in this ice cream. The fresh stuff is extremely fragrant.

I didn’t know what to expect from this flavor. Pistachios are a safe bet, but rosemary in an ice cream? Long story short, the flavors do work well together. In fact, it’s REALLY good. My only regret was that I chopped the rosemary up rather coarsely since I assumed chopping it too fine would diminish the experience, but I was wrong. The salted caramel flavoring is so strong that the rosemary fades into the background, which is a good thing. I made another batch but with Trader Joe’s Roasted and Salted Marcona Almonds with Rosemary instead of the pistachios. It’s not bad, but not as good.

Ingredients

Low Carb Sweet Cream Base
1 tablespoon LorAnn Oils Flavor Fountain, Salted Caramel
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
4 ounces (113 g) pistachios, unshelled

Directions

1. If the pistachios are raw, spread a single layer of shelled pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet. Place the pistachios in an oven preheated to 350 °F. Toast the nuts for 5 to 10 minutes or until the nuts have browned lightly. Check the nuts often and stir them or shake the pan every few minutes to prevent burning. Remove from the oven and coarsely chop. Put the toasted nuts and chopped rosemary in an empty ice cream container.
   
   
2. Put the container for the ice cream including its cover upright in the freezer now. This serves two purposes: it keeps the container cold and it forces you to make sure that there’s space in the freezer.
3. Follow the instructions for the Low Carb Sweet Cream Base. Add the LorAnn Oils Flavor Fountain, Salted Caramel to the sweet cream base. Cover and chill if necessary.
4. Follow your ice cream maker’s directions for making ice cream. One to two minutes before the ice cream is done, add the pistachios and rosemary. Use a silicone spatula to remove the ice cream from the ice cream maker and freeze until solid.