Rice Pudding

Rice pudding has always been a favorite treat of mine. My Mom didn't make it all that often, and when she did it came from a box (Jell-O Americana Rice Pudding), but I still enjoyed it, especially when she sprinkled a little nutmeg on top. I started making it fairly regularly in the early 90s when I picked up a copy of Puddings Custards and Flans, by Linda Zimmerman. It was part of a series of pint-sized cookbooks published by Clarkson Potter and I was busy collecting all of them (Meatloaf was another favorite book in the series.) The recipe for "English" rice pudding sounded like it would be creamy and delicious, and it was. My Dad loved it so much, I usually made a double batch.

Mr Minx is a fan of rice pudding as well, and we had a surplus of milk, so I dusted off the little cookbook (which automatically opened to the correct page) and threw a batch together.

Mrs Donaldson's English Rice Pudding
(adapted from Puddings Custards and Flans)

4 cups milk
2 T unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup raw short-grain white rice
1 vanilla bean, split
1 cinnamon stick
1 large egg
1 t vanilla extract
freshly grated nutmeg

Combine 3 1/2 cups milk, butter, sugar, rice, vanilla, and cinnamon stick in a 2 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately lower heat and simmer pudding for 10 minutes.

Beat the egg with the remaining 1/2 cup milk and stir into the rice mixture. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from heat. The pudding may seem thin but will thicken during cooling. Let cool 20 minutes before transferring into a bowl. Refrigerate for several hours or until it reaches the desired temperature. Remove vanilla bean and cinnamon stick and serve with a garnish of freshly grated nutmeg.

Serves 6.

About fifteen years since I last made it, and still delicious.