Lemon grass- coconut rice pudding
Lisa Gardner, pastry chef at Maple Drive in Beverly Hills, has incorporated lemon grass into a rice pudding. “It’s really nice and fresh tasting,” she says, explaining that chef Eric Klein “wanted to do something with lemon grass and coconut.” She layers the pudding between coconut tuiles and drizzles it all with a vibrant mango-papaya sauce.
Lemon grass is light, almost ethereal, like a delicate perfume. The trick is getting the enchanting flavor out of the tough stalks and into whatever you’re cooking. Gardner achieves this here by first steeping the lemon grass in the cooking liquids and then leaving it in the pot as the rice cooks.
Lemon grass stalks can be long, but it is customary to use just the bottom 6 to 8 inches. After peeling away the tougher outer layers, you then slice, chop or pound it as needed.
From the story: Bright and delicate, with a tang
Pudding
In a large pot, combine the milks, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, ginger and lemon grass. Bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes, then turn the heat off. Let the mixture steep for 10 minutes.
Add the rice to the milk mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook until the rice is soft in the center but not mushy, about 30 minutes.
Mix the egg yolks, eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Remove the cinnamon stick, lemon grass, vanilla bean and ginger from the rice mixture. Slowly pour the rice mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
Pour the mixture back into the pot. Continue cooking until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
Pour the pudding into a clean large bowl and add the butter. Stir until the butter is melted. Cool in an ice bath.
Coconut tuile cookies
Mix the coconut, sugar and flour in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and orange juice and mix well. Let the mixture stand for 1 hour, covered.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spread 1 1/2-inch circles of batter on the paper. Bake until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. (Cookies will spread to 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide.) Cool and remove from pan. Set aside. Makes about 25 cookies.
Mango-papaya sauce
In a small saucepan, make a simple syrup by bringing the sugar and water to a boil, then lowering the heat and simmering until the sugar dissolves. Cool.
Combine the syrup in a blender with the papaya and mango. Puree until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, then stir in the orange juice. Makes 1 1/2 cups.
Assembly
Spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of chilled pudding onto each dessert plate. Place a cookie on top. Add 2 tablespoons of pudding on top of the cookie, then add another cookie and top with 1 heaping tablespoon of pudding.
Spoon the mango-papaya sauce around the pudding and on the edges of the cookies. Combine the chopped mango and papaya and sprinkle about one-fourth cup of the fruit over and around each dessert.
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