Pareve ice cream can be a thing of beauty – I kid you not. The little bit of extra effort required to create a gently thickened, cooked custard base is well worth the reward: rich, velvety ice cream that happens to be both pareve and not made of strange chemicals or those ubiquitous “edible oils” (so not my thing)!

So why Chinese five-spice? I have always loved topping vanilla ice cream with cinnamon. There is something about warm spices that works brilliantly with cold, creamy and sweet. As a delicious and unexpected combination of such, this makes this the ideal “winter ice cream,” if such a thing exists.

In this recipe I have you create your own Chinese five-spice powder, freshly ground and deliciously aromatic. Don’t stress out too much if you don’t have all of the spices in whole form, or if you don’t have the ideal equipment for grinding them. If, say, you haven’t got a coffee grinder, use a mortar and pestle to pound the spices. If you have neither, just use pre-ground spices — or, better yet, increase the amounts of the spices slightly and just use them, whole, in the milk. Whichever way you choose to go about it, the idea is to transfer those warm, spicy flavours into the milk, allow them to steep really well, and then strain out any solid spice-bits.

You will need:

-for the five-spice powder-

1 star anise
10 cloves
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp ground ginger (or substitute 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced)
rounded 1/4 tsp cinnamon

-for the custard base-

2 c regular soy milk (I use PC Organics and So Good original)
2 c coconut milk
2 wide strips of orange rind (use a vegetable peeler)
1/4 tsp salt
1 c sugar, divided
1 vanilla bean (or, in a pinch, use 1 tsp vanilla extract)
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk

Place the anise, cloves, fennel, ginger (unless you’re using fresh ginger) and cinnamon together in a coffee grinder. Pulse the spices together to a coarsely ground mix.

In a saucepan, heat together the soy milk and coconut milk over medium heat. While it’s warming up, throw in the orange rind, salt, five-spice powder, and a 1/2 cup of the sugar. If you’re using fresh ginger, add it to the milk now. Make a long slit down the middle of the vanilla bean, and use the back of a knife to scrape the gooey black seeds into the milk mixture. Throw in the rest of the pod as well.

Bring the milk mixture just barely to a boil, then remove it from the heat. Allow it to rest, covered, for 20 minutes (this gives the spices a chance to really steep in the milk). Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and yolk with the remaining half cup of sugar in a bowl.

Strain the milk, then return it to the saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Slowly whisk some of the hot milk into the eggs (not too much, just eyeball about half a cup), then whisk the egg mixture back into the milk in the saucepan. Stir it over low heat until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (but don’t let it come to a boil).

Your custard base is finished! Chill it in the fridge overnight (or at least 8 hours – it should be as cold as possible). When you’re ready, freeze it in your ice cream maker, churning for about 40 minutes, then put it back in the freezer to firm up (about 3 hours).

Don’t be undone by the fancy title – a bisque is really just a pureed vegetable soup. Perfect for this time of year, which, to me, is all about comfort food. It’s when I reach for recipes that are homey and familiar. I don’t want to fiddle with complicated or fancy recipes, I simply want to take solace in the kitchen, lingering over a bubbling pot and mindlessly stirring away at something that will fill my belly with warmth. Sweet roasted garlic, butternut squash with edges tinged caramel, and the earthy fragrance of cinnamon, cumin and coriander – this soup fits the bill perfectly for winter. Serve it with crusty bread and you have a light but sustaining dinner. You can make it dairy by substituting whole milk for the soy milk and vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

You will need:

1 butternut squash (weighing about 2lbs)
1 small head garlic
vegetable oil spray

1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp hot Hungarian paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp curry powder
1½ c chicken stock
3/4 c plain soy milk (I like PC Organics and So Good original)
2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro or chives (to garnish)

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

If your squash is really tough, puncture the skin with a knife and microwave it on high for 4-8 minutes to soften.

Allow the squash to cool, then cut it in half and scoop the seeds out with a spoon. Spray or brush the cut sides with oil and place, cut side down, on a sturdy baking sheet. Peel the papery outer skin from the garlic bulb (but don’t separate the cloves), slice just the root end off, and wrap the bulb in aluminum foil. Place it on the baking sheet with the squash and bake till both are soft, about 40-50 minutes. Allow the squash and the garlic to cool.

Sqeeze the garlic pulp out of the skins and into a blender. Add the squash pulp (scoop it out with a large spoon) and the spices. Puree, drizzling in the chicken stock and soy milk until you’ve reached a consistency you like.

Transfer the soup to a pot and add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer over low heat and serve hot, with a sprinkling of choppped cilantro or chives to garnish.

Serves 4, generously.