Your Cart is Empty
Nothing is easier than rice pudding. You probably have the ingredients to make it right now, and it actually tastes better the longer it sits in your fridge. This version upgrades the simple dessert with a few sophisticated spices: Ceylon cinnamon for a rasp of gentle heat, regal green cardamom pods for a floral lift, and blades of mace—the orange webbing that grows around the nutmeg seed—to tie everything together. (Nutmeg itself works in a pinch, but mace is lighter and less in-your-face, and this dessert is all about subtlety.) You need very little rice for a good rice pudding; the eight cups of milk will reduce down to four, forming a sauce that’s rich like condensed milk but with a fresher flavor. However this does mean committing to a couple hours of simmering the pudding on the lowest possible heat, so as to not scorch the milk, and stirring the pot every now and then to scrape up any browned bits that will add another layer of richness.
This recipe is adapted from Saveur Magazine.
In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse rice under cold water until the water runs clear. Once all surface starch is rinsed away, transfer to a wide, heavy-bottomed medium pot or Dutch oven.
In a small dry skillet, toast cinnamon, cardamom, and mace over high heat just until they turn fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add to pot with the rice.
Add milk to the pot and stir with rice to combine. Place the pot over high heat and bring the milk to a slow simmer, uncovered, about 10 minutes. Use a wooden spoon or heatproof silicone spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot every couple of minutes to keep the milk from scorching.
Once milk comes to a bare simmer, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice grains are completely tender and the milk has reduced by half, around 2 hours. As you stir, be sure to gently scrape any browned milk bits off the bottom of the pot; they will further flavor the pudding. Add sugar and salt to taste and remove from heat.
Remove and discard spices, then transfer the pudding to a lidded heatproof container and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. Garnish with finely chopped pistachios if desired.
