Rice Pudding

I've been itching to find a good rice pudding recipe lately. This one from smittenkitchen might do the trick:



Arborio Rice Pudding

Serves 4

1/2 cup Arborio rice
4 cups milk (both whole and reduced-fat have worked for me)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split (or 1 teaspoon pure extract, added with almond at the end)
1 bay leaf
3/4 teaspoon almond extract

In a large saucepan, place all the ingredients, except the almond extract. Bring it to a gentle boil and then turn it down to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom, for about 30 to 40 minutes. Taste the rice to check for doneness. The rice should be very soft and plump.



There's also Alton Brown's recipe for a slightly different version. I dig the idea of adding the coconut milk, but would leave out the nuts and fruit. I'm just a purist like that with my textures.

Ingredients

* 1 cup cooked long grain or basmati rice
* 1 cup whole milk
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 3/4 cup coconut milk
* 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
* 1 1/2 ounces golden raisins, approximately 1/3 cup
* 1 1/2 ounces chopped unsalted pistachios, approximately 1/3 cup

Directions

In a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, combine the cooked rice and milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium, add the heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar, and cardamom and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Use a whisk to help prevent the cardamom from clumping. Once the mixture just begins to thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the raisins and pistachios. Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Maybe I'll experiment with these this weekend...