Arborio Rice Pudding with Coconut Milk
Even though the holidays are over, a chill is still in the air and we all crave comforting food. This recipe is a version of rice pudding, except instead of using regular rice I used arborio rice, which you use to make risotto. The starch from this variety gives the rice pudding an extra creaminess. I also used a mixture of different types of milk: regular, evaporated, condensed and coconut milk. The first three are from a recipe Mariano’s grandmother makes for her infamous rice pudding and his family can eat bucketfuls of it.
I added coconut milk out of curiosity. The result is a smooth, rich and creamy rice pudding with a hint of nutty coconut flavor.
When you make rice pudding, you combine rice with milk and you stir and add more milk as necessary until the rice is tender and the mixture reaches the desired thickness. At least, that’s the method I know. For this recipe I combined this procedure and the procedure you use to make risotto, meaning I let the milk get consumed and I continued adding more to cook.
If you feel the mixture is too thick, just add more milk (the regular type). Sugar is also something to consider. Personally, I prefer a creamy and smooth rice pudding that is not too sweet. This is where you can adjust the amount of sugar you put it. The recipe calls for 6 tablespoons and 1/2 can of condensed milk. You can omit the sugar altogether if you think the sweetness from the condensed milk is enough, or use half of it. To be honest, I did find that 6 tablespoons was a bit too sweet, for my taste.
~Helga
Arborio Rice Pudding with Coconut Milk
A The Foodies’ Kitchen Original Recipe
Serves 8
Ingredients:
1 cup Arborio rice
2 1/2 cups whole milk + more during cooking (about 1 1/2 cups)
6 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 can coconut milk
1 cinnamon stick
Procedure:
- In a large pot, mix the Arborio rice, cinnamon, sugar, and whole milk. Cook (uncovered) over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring until the milk starts to evaporate.
- Meanwhile, in another pot mix the rest of the ingredients (condensed, evaporated and coconut milk), and bring them to a simmer. Once the 15 minutes have passed, incorporate this mixture into the pot with the Arborio rice,remove the cinnamon stick and continue cooking over medium heat for another 10 min, stirring. At this point, you can adjust the amount of sugar you want to put it, depending on your taste.
- Now, lower the heat to low, and continue cooking for another 25-30 minutes. Keep stirring! You need to add a little more milk, and I didn’t measure this part! when I thought it was starting to get too thick, I just added a few extra slushes of milk as the cooking process went on (you’ll probably add about 1 1/2 extra cups of milk) . I didn’t want to be too thick, remember that it will get thicker as it cools.
- Check to see if the rice is cooked through, we don’t want any al dente qualities here. If you need a few minutes more, 5 or so, just keep adding a little bit more milk.
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