Rice Pudding with Poached Rhubarb

Today is the first day back at school from spring break. Spring break was fun and pretty busy.

After Easter and finishing some exciting homework early, we headed down to visit some family friends in NC. One of the cool things we made was a rice pudding and poached rhubarb desert. We got the idea from the Food and Wine magazine.

The rice pudding is made by boiling a cup of arborio rice for 3 minutes and then straining it. Next you return the rice to the sauce pan and then add a cup of heavy cream, 2 1/2 cups of whole milk, and a half of a vanilla bean stripped of its seeds. Cook that on low heat for 25 minutes. To finish off the pudding, mix in 1/2 cup of sugar and then chill it in the fridge. The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of sugar, but more people than not said that the dish as a whole was too sweet.

To make the rhubarb topping, start by simmering 3 cups of water with 1 cup of red wine, the other half vanilla bean, seeds scraped, a cinnamon stick, a lemon's juice, and 2 cups of sugar. I know I said some people thought it was too sweet, so why is there so much sugar here? Well, remember that this is a poaching liquid and that you are only eating the rhubarb, which probably does not absorb all the sugar in the liquid. Also, rhubarb is a very sour veggie, so this sugar may be needed to balance the sourness. After this has simmered for 10 minutes, add a pound or more of rhubarb, cut into 1 inch slices and simmer that for 15 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender. Let the mixture cool.

Finally serve the pudding and top it with rhubarb after straining it out of its liquid. Both the pudding and the rhubarb can be made ahead of time. It doesn't have to be served right away. It may also be nice to garnish with some fresh mint.