Apricot Rice Pudding
Got milk? Got milk that’s about to expire and you want to use it up? We are not big milk drinkers in our family, but our family goes in and out of cereal eating phases. I always have a gallon of milk in the fridge and a back up to boot. Heaven forbid we should run out! I hate to waste so I’m usually looking for ways to use it up before it goes bad. A pudding is an easy choice, because who doesn’t love pudding? Why not step it up a bit by making a rice pudding? Here I’m using Gale Gand’s recipe from her book Butter Sugar Flour Eggs. It’s pretty tasty and oh so easy to make. So hurry up and get to it before your milk goes bad!
Ingredients
1 cup raw short-grain rice (such as Arborio), rinsed in a colander until the water runs clear
4 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup diced dried apricots
1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and soft insides scraped out and reserved
1/2 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
Method
Bring the rice, milk, apricots, vanilla scrapings, and lemon zest to a simmer in a covered heavy saucepan over medium heat. Immediately reduce the heat to as low as possible, cover tightly, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the rice is very tender, 20-25 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Stir the egg yolks into the cooked rice mixture and stir just until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Stir in the sugar.
Spoon the rice pudding into ramekins or dessert cups and let cool. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Or refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 24 hours)
Makes 6 to 8 servings
