- Place the rice in a colander with tiny holes or a sieve and rinse under running water until the water runs clear. Drain.
- Place the rinsed rice in a saucepan and cover with water, roughly 1 – 1/3 cups water for every cup of rice; bring the water to a boil and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Drain the rice.
- Return the drained rice to a medium-sized saucepan with the whole milk (or half low-fat milk and half cream), 1 tablespoon of the sugar and a pinch of salt.
- Using a small, sharp knife split the vanilla bean down the center and scrape out all of the seeds.
- Add both the seeds and the pod to the other ingredients in the saucepan.
- Bring it just up to the boil and then immediately turn the heat down to very low and, placing a cover atop the saucepan but leaving it ajar
- allow the pudding to simmer, stirring often, for 30 to 35 minutes or until the rice has absorbed almost all of the liquid.
- The rice should be very soft almost melting in the mouth. It should not be al dente.
- The pudding should be creamy, neither runny nor dry.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and remove and discard the vanilla bean pod.
- Stir in the tablespoon of butter and about half of the remaining sugar.
- Taste and add as much of the remaining sugar until desired sweetness.
- Spoon into individual serving dishes, glasses or bowls.
- Riz au Lait is always best eaten warm but this particular pudding is delicious at room temperature and even stays creamy when chilled
- Riz au Lait can also be served with cooked fruit or jam served atop it to give it a tangy kick.
Recipe is from Jamie Schler’s site – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-schler/riz-au-lait-recipe-french-rice-pudding-comfort-food_b_783435.html
Rice Pudding (Riz au Lait)- Recipe
