My contribution to a Welcome-the-New-Argentinian-Colleague Dinner: Saffron Ice Cream with Vanilla-Poached Quinces

My friend Carina is working together with scientists from all over the world in the  Dresden Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics. The newest member of the group has just arrived from Argentina, is freezing, has no car, doesn't know anyone and has not made friends with his kitchen yet.

To put him out of his misery Carina organized a welcome dinner.
I hope he enjoys my dessert:

Saffron Ice Cream with Vanilla-Poached Quinces 
inspired by David Lebovitz' recipe from The Perfect Scoop

For the ice cream:

125 ml  (1/2 cup) whole milk or rice/soy milk
250ml  (1 cup) heavy cream or Oatly Cuisine
100g  (1/2 cup) sugar
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon kirsch

Warm the milk, the cream and sugar in a sauce pan. Remove from the heat and add the saffron. Pour into a small bowl and steep in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Rewarm the saffron- infused mixture in a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm saffron mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then scrape the mixture back into the sauce pan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Before freezing it in your ice cream maker add a teaspoon of kirsch. If you are a paella lover you may like to add a teaspoon kirsch to disguise the possibly upcoming reminiscence!

For the poached quinces:

3 quinces (1kg)
300g sugar
1 vanilla bean
1l water

Peel and quarter the quinces, remove the cores. Heat 300g (1 1/2 cups) sugar, 1l water, and 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise. While the syrup is heating cut the quinces into small slices.
Add the quinces to the syrup, cover with a round of parchment paper and cook at a gentle simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until the quince slices are rosy and tender. Let cool to room temperature.

Serve the quince slices with a scoop of saffron ice cream and with the delicious poaching syrup.

Just thought,  it would also make a nice dessert for the Christmas dinner...