Strawberry-Mezcal Ice Cream

When it’s full-on strawberry season, you almost hate to do anything with beautiful ripe strawberries other than just eat them — until you taste this glorious ice cream. It's best to make this a day in advance, so the custard can chill before you freeze it and the ice cream has time to set in the freezer. If you're using really ripe, fabulous berries, you can cut back the sugar in the first part of the recipe. But even if you’re using kind of pallid, just-getting-into-the-season berries, roasting them first has the advantage of concentrating their flavor. Don't want the mezcal? You can substitute half a teaspoon vanilla or a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, no problem. But then you can't call it strawberry-mezcal ice cream.

Don’t have an ice cream maker? Cuisinart makes really good ones.

Makes about 1 quart.