Riz au Lait
Scaled amounts are a guide — baking times and pan sizes do not scale with them.
Ingredients
- 1 litre whole milk
- 140 g white round rice
- 75 g sugar, or to taste
- Big pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
- Finely grated zest of one lemon or orange, preferably unsprayed
French rice pudding is made on the stove, not in the oven, and it is deliberately looser than its English cousin: the rice should still be swimming when you take it off the heat, because it keeps drinking as it cools. Round rice is simmered in whole milk with sugar and a pinch of salt, stirred often so it does not catch, and scented at the very end with vanilla and a little citrus zest — added off the heat so the perfume survives. Serve it warm or cold, plain or under salted-butter caramel.
Method
Mix the milk, rice, sugar and salt in a medium-to-large saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil.
Lower to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently so the rice does not stick to itself or to the pan, for 20-25 minutes, until the rice is almost tender and much of the liquid is gone.
Add the vanilla bean paste and keep cooking over very low heat until the pudding looks like very loose oatmeal and the grains are tender — up to 15 minutes more.
Take it off the heat and stir in the citrus zest and the vanilla extract.
Serve warm or chilled — plain, dusted with cinnamon, or under candied almonds or salted butter caramel.
