Maya-Mediterranean Chocolate Rice Pudding
Source: adapted from The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes by Maricel Presilla (Ten Speed Press, 2001).
Makes 8 to 12 servings

1 cup whole achiote (annatto) seeds
10 cups water
1 cup short-grain rice, preferably Spanish
1 tablespoon aniseeds
12 allspice berries
4 (3-inch) sticks true cinnamon* (soft Ceylon cinnamon, sold as canela in Hispanic markets)
1 dried arbol or serrano chile
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups fresh whole milk
2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
3 ounces El Rey Bucare dark chocolate (58.5% cacao), Valrhona Pur Caraibe dark chocolate (66% cacao), or other fruity dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 plump Mexican vanilla beans

*Ground true cinnamon (soft Ceylon cinnamon, sold as canela in Hispanic markets) for dusting.

Place the achiote in a medium-sized saucepan and cover with the water. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and set aside. (You can save the achiote seeds and reuse them for another purpose by again steeping in hot liquid.)

Meanwhile, rinse the rice under cold running water until the water runs clear. Set aside to drain well in a sieve or colander.

Tie the aniseeds, allspice, cinnamon sticks, and dried chile in a piece of cheesecloth.

Pour the reserved achiote water into a heavy-bottomed 5- or 6-quart saucepan. Add the drained rice, spice bouquet, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, until the rice is soft, 20 to 25 minutes.

Stir in the whole milk and condensed milk. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon to mix evenly as it melts.

Cook, uncovered, for another 40 minutes, stirring occasionally; it should be very creamy but not dry. Halfway through the cooking, split the vanilla beans lengthwise with a small sharp knife and scrape the seeds into the mixture. Add the scraped beans and stir to mix well.

When the pudding is done but still a little loose-textured, remove and discard the spice bouquet and vanilla beans. Pour into a serving dish, dust lightly with the ground cinnamon, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: Products using porcelana cacao beans are available from chocolate makers Domori, Scharffen Berger and Valrhona.