Rice pudding – riz au lait en français – is one of my favorite sweet treat. Even though I am not sure I would serve it to my guests for two reasons. The first one is that not everybody is a rice pudding lover. The second one is about the look of it. Let’s be honest, the apparence is far from refined!
Despite these reasons, I am a huge fan of this dessert. There is no better way to eat that food in your sofa, under your favorite blanket, binge-watching your favorite show! Especially when it is baked with real vanilla bean. It brings back childhood memories and it is so comforting. This recipe is the easiest one, made of only four ingredients: rice, whole milk, sugar and vanilla. Though I always add a huge tablespoon – sometimes two – of dulce de leche in the bottom of my bowl.
The most difficult part of the recipe is to find to appropriate rice. In France, we use what we call round grain rice. Here I haven’t found it yet. So I use the Goya medium grain rice from Mariano’s and it makes no big difference.
Ingredients for 6 servings (or for three people like me)
- 50 fl. oz (1,5 L) whole milk
- 5.3 oz (150 g) round or medium grain rice
- 3.5 oz (100 g) caster sugar if you’re adding dulce de leche or caramel sauce. If you’re not, 4.4 oz (125 g) caster sugar.
- 1 vanilla pod
Directions
- Rince the rice with cold water in a fine mesh strainer until the water becomes clear. Then, pour the rice, sugar and milk in a large saucepan.
- Cut the vanilla pod longwise and scratch out the seeds. Add the seeds and both pod halves in the saucepan.
- Stir gently to mix all the ingredients together and bring it to a boil on medium heat. Then, reduce heat to low and place a lid on the saucepan. Cook for 50 minutes. Let it cool and your ready to enjoy your homemade rice pudding! Place it in the fridge to keep it a few days.
Tasty note: Don’t forget about the topping! Dulce de leche, caramel or chocolate sauce, even fresh strawberries or banana slices can be a great addition to your creamy riz au lait!