Cardamom rice pudding with rhubarb compote

I guess I can be a little insane at times. Insane like spontaneously deciding to book a trip to Santa Fe. I wasn't aware of just how far Santa Fe is from Montreal. It's pretty far, like "two time zones away" kind of far. That's really far for a week-end trip. Clearly, I'm a little nuts. Actually, I had reasons for traveling so far.

Food photography has been a very sore point for me. I have had trouble tapping into my "inner artist;" there were lighting issues galore; I had trouble shooting in any camera mode other than automatic. The subject was so sensitive that when I got a new camera, I told next to no one, and it sat in the box for what seemed like an eternity, taunting and teasing me through its bubble wrap. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and I signed up for a week-end long ACE Camp food photography course with Helene Dujardin (of Tartelette and Plate to Pixel). And that`s how I ended up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Crazy, huh!

As I made my way through the check-in line and security at the airport in Montreal last Friday, I was pretty excited: I was going to meet Helene Dujardin that day and I was hoping to gain some much needed insight into food photography. Of course, the excitement was short-lived because, at the US Customs, the officer deemed me an "unintentional immigrant" to the United States, trying to weasel my way in under the guise of a "photography course." He looked stunned that I would go all the way to Santa Fe from Montreal, just for a week-end. Needless to say, I missed a whole bunch of flights and shuttle buses, and I started to wonder if this was a huge neon sign telling me that I had made a huge, expensive mistake.

I did make it to Santa Fe in the end (though a little later than planned) and I learned a lot at photography camp. Angela (the organizer) was incredible (she put together some wonderful meals for us to indulge in and she was a joy to get to know). Helene was such a comforting guide to us all, and truly a fountain of knowledge to learn from. Helene is so down to earth, yet I will always be more than a little in awe of her when I see her. She is quite an amazing and talented woman.

Now, flash forward to this, my first blog post after camp, and I have to say, I really did learn a lot. Perhaps I chose the wrong time of day to take my photographs for this blog post: outside, in the shade of a house, sun setting behind the house. Yup, not the best time of day for photographing food. Yet, I still ended up with some shots that I`m okay with. I know that practice will make better, and at least now, after camp, I have a few tricks to work with and play around with. Now, if only I could figure out what "post-processing in photoshop" means!

And, if you`re wondering why I chose rice pudding for my first blog post, after photography camp: I decided that if the photographing proved to be troublesome, I`d need a cupful of comfort at the end of it all to lift my spirits. The rice pudding recipe was tweaked from the one published in Fine Cooking (June/July 2011). I decided to include cardamom instead of cinnamon to add a slight floral note that would be perfect paired with rhubarb compote. In case you're wondering how I got the rhubarb to be so pink: I added a few raspberries to the pot to give the compote that pinkish glow that people come to expect from rhubarb desserts. Of course, whether you add the raspberries or not is entirely up to you. I layered the rice pudding with the compote to serve, sprinkling the top with a little crushed pistachio for that extra punch of color. I only scrape out the seeds from the split vanilla bean after simmering the pudding since, more often than not, my vanilla beans are less than fresh.


Cardamom rice pudding with rhubarb compote
Serves 4 (makes about 3 cups)

• 1 L whole milk
• 125 grams jasmine "cargo" rice (meaning it still has its husk)
• 75 grams granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean (split in half lengthwise)
• 2 cardamom seeds (crack the pods open to reveal the seeds)
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup heavy cream (you can use whole milk instead, but I felt like indulging)
• Rhubarb compote (optional)
• Crushed pistachios

1. Combine the milk, rice, sugar, vanilla bean, and cardamom seeds in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Bring to the boil, and simmer, stirring often, and playing with the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer.
2. Cook the rice until it is tender. This will take approximately 25 minutes for a simple jasmine rice, but more like 50 minutes for the unhusked rice. Remove the pan from the heat when the rice is done.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks together, then slowly drizzle one cup of the hot milk mixture while whisking the yolks to temper the eggs. When tempered, add the egg mixture to the pan, along with the cream and place the pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until the mixture boils and is thickened (about 2 minutes).
4. Transfer the pudding to a bowl, removing the cardamom seeds and the vanilla bean (be sure to scrape out any remaining seeds and add them back to the pudding). Put plastic wrap directly on the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and place the bowl in an ice bath to cool it completely. 
5. To serve, layer the pudding with rhubarb compote, and top with crushed pistachios.

Rhubarb compote
Makes about 1.5 cups

• 1 pound frozen, chopped rhubarb
• 60 grams granulated sugar
• 7 frozen raspberries

1. In a small saucepan, heat the rhubarb, sugar, and raspberries over medium-low heat, covered.
2. When the mixture begins to simmer, uncover, and stir with a fork.
3. Continue cooking (about 15 minutes), stirring often, until the rhubarb breaks down into a lovely compote.