Wild Rice Custard With Saskatoon Berries Food

WILD RICE CUSTARD WITH SASKATOON BERRIES

Steps:

• Bring almond milk and wild rice to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until rice opens up and is soft and chewy, approximately 40 minutes. Strain rice and save warm almond milk. Approximately 2 cups (500 mL) liquid should remain.
• Heat honey on low heat to ensure it will pour smoothly. Whisk eggs, cinnamon, and cloves in bowl until well whipped. Slowly add warm honey to eggs, while whisking. Stir in leftover almond milk slowly to ensure the eggs are tempered. Do not whisk briskly at this point; stir or whisk slowly, to avoid incorporating too much air and creating foam.
• Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C). Fill oven-safe pan with 2 in (5 cm) water to create a water bath for holding 8 ramekins.
• Spoon 1 to 2 Tbsp (15 to 30 mL) wild rice into ramekins. Pour custard over top and place ramekins in water bath. Place in oven for approximately 35 minutes until custard is set. Remove from water bath and let cool before chilling in the refrigerator.
• Top chilled custard with fresh berries.

WILD RICE AND BERRIES WITH POPPED RICE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large saucepan, bring 5 cups water to a boil over high. Stir in 1 cup wild rice along with the dried berries and maple syrup. Once the mixture comes back to a boil, reduce the heat so the liquid is just simmering, cover and cook until the grains begin to open, 20 to 40 minutes, checking doneness after about 20 minutes. (The rice is done when it has opened slightly, is tender and has quadrupled in size.)
• Drain the excess liquid from the rice. (The cloudy cooking liquid tastes sweet and nutty and can be sipped on its own, reserved for use in the roast turkey with berry-mint sauce and black walnuts, or used as a stock substitute.)
• Meanwhile, toast the hazelnuts: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them until the skin blisters and cracks, and they begin to smell nutty, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a clean dish towel and massage them aggressively to remove most of the skins. Crush the nuts directly in the towel using the flat side of a knife or the bottom of a small, heavy frying pan.
• Add the remaining 1/4 cup rice to a dry medium skillet and cook the rice over high heat, shaking the pan, until it begins to darken and about half of the kernels have popped, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Drizzle the boiled rice with the hazelnut oil and season to taste with salt. Divide among bowls and garnish with the popped rice, hazelnuts and chives.

BAKED VANILLA CUSTARD WITH BERRIES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Have a 2-quart oval baking dish and a roasting pan large enough to hold the baking dish ready.
• Prepare the berries: Combine the strawberries, cherries, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat without stirring, until the fruit has softened a bit and released lots of juices, about 5 minutes. Transfer the fruit and a scant 1/4 cup (59 milliliters) of the juices to the baking dish. Discard any remaining juice.
• Make the custard: Combine the sugar and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl and beat vigorously with a whisk until very light and creamy looking. Add the mascarpone and beat just until combined; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the cream and vanilla on medium speed to soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Gently fold the cream and vanilla into the mascarpone mixture until no streaks remain.
• Carefully dollop the custard on top of the berries. Place the baking dish in the roasting pan and place the roasting pan in the oven. Pour hot but not boiling water into the roasting pan so it comes two-thirds of the way up the sides of the baking dish.
• Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the surface is lightly golden, the edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly. If it starts getting too dark too quickly, cover with foil.
• Remove the pudding from the roasting pan and let it cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Cover the custard and chill for 6 hours or overnight. Serve chilled, topped with a dusting of confectioners' sugar and sliced strawberries.