Lighter Creamy Vanilla Rice Pudding Food

CLASSIC RICE PUDDING

Steps:

• Whisk together the egg, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Add the milk, cream, rice and salt to a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Slowly add about half a cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, whisking quickly, to temper the egg mixture.
• Add the egg mixture to the saucepan with the remaining rice mixture. Stir everything together and continue heating on low heat for about another 5-10 minutes, or until thickened. Don't boil. It will thicken quickly. Keep in mind that the mixture will continue to thicken as it cools, so you don't want it to be too thick before you take it off the heat. A touch soupy still is ok.
• Remove from heat and serve warm.

INSTANT POT LEMON VANILLA RICE PUDDING WITH WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• In the pressure cooker pot, stir together the rice, milk, sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon zest, and salt. Use the tip of a paring knife to scrape the vanilla seeds out of the pod into the pot and add the vanilla bean, too.
• Lock the lid into place and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure.
• Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the cream and yolks. Whisk into the rice, continuing to stir until thickened, 2 to 4 minutes. The residual heat of the rice will cook the yolks. Stir in the raisins (if using).
• Spoon the pudding into serving bowls, then cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours. The pudding will thicken as it cools. Serve with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and whipped cream, if desired.

HEALTHIER CREAMY RICE PUDDING

Steps:

• Combine water and rice over high heat in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes.
• Combine cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar, and salt in a clean saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg, and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract. Serve warm.

EXTRA CREAMY RICE PUDDING

Steps:

• Rinse a large saucepan with cold water. Don't dry. Set on stove-top over medium heat. Add milk. Heat milk to boiling, over medium heat, stirring regularly. WATCH CLOSELY as it nears the boil! When milk hits the boil, it will boil up and possibly over. That's not a good thing.
• When milk boils, stir in rice and keep stirring until mixture returns to the boil. Reduce heat to a shade higher than low, or whatever level on your stove allows the mixture to gently simmer (bubble breaking the surface but not too vigorously). Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring down the mixture every 10 minutes (Important that you stir it down regularly and ensure that there is no rice sticking to the bottom of the pan. You will notice that the mixture has probably formed a skin on top. Don't remove it. Just stir it back in.)
• Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, use a fork to whisk together the cream, sugar, yolks, vanilla and salt. Set aside on counter while rice is cooking, leaving fork in bowl. Set out a ladle to use, as well. I like to do this after the rice starts cooking, so that the mixture comes to room temperature by the time it's needed.
• Once milk/rice has simmered for 30 minutes, continue simmering, but stir down every 5 minutes. With each stir, start testing the done-ness of the rice by tasting a piece. You want the rice to be tender (so no hard center). **Depending on the rice you used, your mixture may start to get thick-ish at this point, with little milky liquid left. If so, add more hot milk or water to the pot, just as much as needed to loosen the mixture up, with each stir. Watch closely and don't let the mixture get dry or it will scorch. Continue cooking, stirring down and adding additional milk, as needed until the rice is tender. Most rice is generally done at about 45-50 minutes of total simmering time. A lot will depend on how vigorously your mixture is boiling, so there is no hard and fast rule. Taste testing is the best indicator.
• Once the rice is cooked, slide the pot off the heat to avoid scorching. Re-whisk your egg mixture with your fork. Using the ladle, spoon out a ladle-full of hot rice/milk mixture, taking as much liquid as possible, but not to worry if you bring some of the rice with it. With the ladle in your left hand (assuming your right-handed, if not, reverse) and using your right hand to start whisking the egg mixture with the fork, start adding the hot mixture to the eggs A DROP AT A TIME, at first, while continuously whisking with the fork. Increase to a slow stream, while whisking continuously, until the entire ladle-full has been added. Get another ladle-full of hot liquid and slowly add it to the egg mixture as well, whisking continuously. Keep adding hot liquid until you've got at least 1 1/2 cups-1 3/4 cups of now warmed liquid in your bowl. Once you have reached that point, pour the warmed egg mixture into your cooking pot.
• Return the saucepan to heat, over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring almost continuously, just until a dime-sized bubble breaks the surface of the pudding. Pudding should be noticeably thickened and saucy, but still more sauce than rice (pudding will set more in the fridge as it cools). If liquid seems almost like milk consistency (rather than heavy cream consistency), it's too thin. Cook, stirring, a little longer. **Note though that you never want to allow the mixture to vigorously boil after the egg mixture has been added, as you may end up with scrambled eggs.
• If using raisins, add to the bottom of a medium-large bowl. When pudding is cooked, immediately pour hot mixture over raisins. Stir well to combine. Allow to stand on counter for about 5 minutes, to allow the steam to reduce, then cover bowl with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator. Allow to cool and set, at least 6 hours or preferably, over-night. Pudding will set as it cools. To serve, simply stir and spoon into bowls. Serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon, if desired. If pudding is or becomes too thick, simply add a tablespoon or so of heavy cream to mixture and stir in. If you enjoy your rice pudding warmed, you can warm slightly in the microwave or a small saucepan.

LIGHTENED RICE PUDDING

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine rice and 5 cups milk; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, 15 to 17 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla, cardamom, and remaining cup milk. Slowly pour egg mixture into rice mixture; cook over medium-low, stirring constantly, until pudding coats the back of a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in raisins. Pour pudding into a 6-quart casserole dish or large bowl; let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days). Serve pudding garnished with more raisins and cardamom.

CREAMY VANILLA RICE PUDDING

Steps:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, combine milk, rice, sugar, vanilla caviar and pod, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring gently.
• Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover pot and continue to cook, stirring often, until rice is very tender and pudding has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes more. Remove pot from heat and let pudding cool for 5 minutes; fish out the vanilla bean pod before transferring to a heatproof bowl.
• refrigerate until cold and thick, at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.
• Tip: may add 2 large egg yolks and a sot of dark rum during the last 5 minutes of cooking for a more grownup twist.
• Note: this recipe calls for medium grain white rice (not long- or short-grain rice), which lends the perfect amount of starch, creaminess, and texture to the pudding.
• Cooking time is cooling time.