Peach Ice Cream

Makes 5 cups

2 cups fresh peaches, skinned, pitted and diced

1/4 sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

4 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split in half or 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Macerate the peaches with the lemon juice in a saucepan with the lemon juice and sugar for about 10 minutes or until syrupy. Simmer over medium heat until the peaches are soft for about 5 minutes. Let cool completely. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale. In the meantime, heat the milk, cream and vanilla bean until steam rises. Gradually add the hot cream to the egg yolks, whisking constantly to prevent them from scrambling. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the cream coats the back of a spoon, 5 to 8 minutes. Strain the cream and let cool completely. Stir in the peaches. At that point use a hand-held mixer to puree some of the peaches and leave chunks in the base. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a container and freeze until firm.