Recipe: New York Rice Pudding (made like risotto)

NEW YORK RICE PUDDING

"For years I tried to make rice pudding like the pudding I grew up with in New York City. I was never successful in achieving that perfect texture, until risotto became popular in the '90s. Regular New York style rice pudding is now too rich for me."

1 cup Arborio rice
2 cups water
1 (1/2-inch) piece of vanilla bean
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups 2% milk
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup raisins
Ground nutmeg and cinnamon

Place the rice, water, vanilla bean and salt in a 3-quart pot. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. (Be sure to use a large enough pot, as Arborio rice is very starchy and bubbles up a lot.)

Meanwhile, place the milk and sugar in another medium pot and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and keep warm until the rice is done cooking.

Add the milk mixture to the cooked rice. Stir gently to break up any lumps. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Adjust the heat to keep the mixture at a slow simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, the mixture will thicken dramatically. Stir in the raisins.

Spoon the pudding into a storage container and let it cool briefly, cover and refrigerate until completely cool (about 6 hours). If the pudding is too thick, stir in enough milk to loosen it.

Before serving, grate some nutmeg over the pudding and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.

Makes 8 servings

Per serving: 211 calories, 2 g fat, 9 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium,
10% calories from fat.

Source: Light Holiday Jewish Desserts by Penny Eisenberg