Rice Pudding.

This recipe was developed for ABC Everyday.

This is a deliciously easy and custardy stovetop rice pudding. Growing up, my Grandma used to make us our Great Grandmothers recipe for rice pudding frequently. A classic oven style rice pudding, a ‘throw all the ingredients in and bung it in the oven’ type of situation, so you could argue that’s a lot easier than this – but this recipe, inspired by the hug-in-a-bowl experiences gifted to me by my Grandma, is very straight forward and comes together pretty quickly, and the custardy vanilla-heavy result is truly addictive.



TIPS:

This makes a relatively big batch, about 8 serves. But can be easily halved or quartered should you wish to make a smaller amount.

Use a thermometer while cooking your pudding and before adding your yolks. This will help to get a perfect result. However, if you don’t have a thermometer, you may find you are inadvertently simmering at a hotter than required temperature and your rice pudding will be ready earlier, so watch eagerly from the 20-25 minute mark, whisking regularly. Cooking more rapidly will still give you a good result, but the rice won’t be as good a consistency. 

I like to serve mine with a little panela sugar, added while it's hot so it melts on top, some orange zest and some freshly grated nutmeg. I love to keep it simple like this but it can also be jazzed up with stewed or baked fruit or fresh berries. A richer topping combo that pleases is a  little finely grated dark chocolate, toasted sesame seeds and tahini. There are lots of ways to enjoy this, so test a few things out and pick your favourite. If you are a custard lover, you might find you prefer it all on its own. 

Keep leftovers (if you have them) in a sealed container in the fridge and consume within 4 days. 
 

Ingredients:

250g Arborio rice ( 1 1/3 cups)

100g (½ cup) caster sugar

1300g/ml (5 ¼ cups) full cream milk

300g/ml (1 ¼ cups) double or thickened cream

2-3 teaspoons good quality vanilla paste or 1 vanilla pod, halved and seeds scraped

4 egg yolks

A bigger than you think pinch of salt

To serve (all optional)

Panela (or brown) sugar

Whole nutmeg (for finely grating)

Orange zest

Method.

Add rice, sugar, milk, cream and vanilla to a decent sized saucepan and stir well. I like to use a 3L pot. 

Put over a low heat on the stovetop and bring to a gentle simmer. I like to sit a thermometer into the pan to manage the simmer heat, it should be about 90-94° C (this is not strictly necessary but helps to make sure you'll get the right consistency at the end, everyone's concept of a simmer may vary. If you’re not using a thermometer, you are looking for an extremely small simmer, bubbles barely breaking at the top). 

Once at gentle simmering, cook for 30-35 minutes or until thickened and creamy, whisking vigorously every 3-5 minutes to help release the starches and prevent any sticking to the bottom of the pan. If you haven't been using a thermometer to manage your heat, you'll probably find you've inadvertently been simmering at a hotter temp and your pudding might be ready closer to the 20-25 minute mark, so keep your eyes peeled. 

Remove from heat and whisk vigorously for two minutes, this will cool it down enough to add our egg yolks. Check with your thermometer that it's no hotter than 70° Celsius before adding your yolks. Then add the yolks and your pinch of salt and whisk vigorously again. Return it to a low heat on the stovetop and whisk constantly until it reaches 82° C. This will ensure our egg yolks are cooked properly. 

Remove from heat and continue to whisk vigorously for another two minutes to bring the temperature back down. It should be custardy thick, but if it needs loosening, add a splash of milk until you get a consistency you're happy with.

Rice pudding must be served warm, in my opinion (but that does not stop me stealing spoonful’s straight from the fridge at any time of day if I have leftovers). Ladle into your serving bowl and sprinkle over some panela sugar, freshly grate on some nutmeg and adding the zest of an orange is a nice touch too. 

The last step is non-negotiable. You must give at least one bowl of this batch to someone you love, it really is a hug-in-a-bowl.