Rice pudding — the way every mother in France makes it — is simple and lighter than its creamy counterpart, since there it is traditionally cooked in milk. It's one of those dishes that serves double duty as dessert following a light salad meal or as an after school snack.
There are two camps: Those who love rice pudding and those who are wrong.
Rice pudding or riz au lait — literally, rice with milk — brings back memories of running up the driveway and having a warm bowl waiting to soothe the ills after a day of practicing times tables and conjugating irregular verbs and hiding as far outfield during baseball games as possible.
When it came to making rice pudding for my children I was under strict instructions to make it, "Exactly like Mamie's." No pressure. What's a mom to do? As any self-respecting woman does, I called my mom. After asking for simple things like, I dunno....Ingredients? And quantities? And cooking time?...and getting exactly nowhere:
I scoured the web and found a recipe that seemed to most closely resemble what I'd grown up with. So, put aside any idea that pre-packaged rice pudding is anything like actual rice pudding and enjoy.
Ingredients
Combine the milk, vanilla, lemon zest, and sugar into a saucepan and slowly bring to a boil over medium to high heat.
Once the milk begins begins to boil, slowly stir in uncooked rice.
Lower heat to medium and keep stirring to prevent sticking.
Once the rice has absorbed most of the milk, remove from heat, stir once more, and allow to cool.
Serve warm or cool with a splash of milk and a dash of cinnamon.
Makes enough for 6-8 servings.
Bon appétit!
Another dish that required pulling teeth to get the recipe is Leek, Potato, and Carrot Soup, but it was worth it!
Based on recipe from Marmiton.
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