June DOTMC: Strawberry Rhubarb Crema Catalana

These days I’m super into using the best ingredients I can find. For this recipe I wanted to use the fruit from my CSA and fresh raw dairy from my dairy club. I’m also trying not to use refined sugar or corn starch wherever possible so I thought I’d give this a go. This is a traditional Catalan dessert made slightly modern through the use of ingredients as it is usually made with sugar, corn or potato starch and no fruit. Play around with it and fee free to borrow my cast iron caramelizing tool!

5 stalks fresh rhubarb
1 ½ t. butter
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup honey

Slice and sautee the rhubarb in butter until soft, approximately 4-5 minutes. Combine with strawberries in a large bowl, refrigerate.

2 cups milk
4 tablespoons honey (more to taste if you wish)
seeds of 1 vanilla bean
4 egg yolks
1 T kuzu powder
2 T maple crystals

Pour milk into pan, add 2 T honey, the vanilla bean seeds and bring to a simmer and remove from the heat.
While the milk is heating, beat the egg yolks, 2 T honey and the kuzu. Gradually stir in the hot milk and then return the mixture to the pan. Bring back to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes or until thickened to the consistency of soft pudding. Strain out the vanilla seeds and pour into a serving dish or 4 individual serving dishes, add 2 T of the strawberry-rhubarb mixture to the middle of the custard, let cool, then refrigerate for at least an hour (will be fine covered with plastic for up to a day.) Just before serving, sprinkle maple crystals on top and using either a kitchen torch or cast iron tool specifically for this purpose, burn the crystals to caramelize.

Serves 4