Rice pudding (riz au lait)

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 6 people, you will need:

• 1 200 g rice
• 2 100 g caster sugar
• 3 1 vanilla pod
• 4 1 litre whole milk
• 5 300 g real custard sauce (crème anglaise) (optional)
• Total weight: 1,305 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
1 min.	40 min.	40 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Scale 200 g rice in a strainer, then wash under tap water.
2	It is not essential, but I advise you to pre-cook rice (especially if you don't use a special dessert rice, also called round rice) 2 or 3 minutes in salted boiling water. Then dry and rinse.
3	In a pan, put rice, add 100 g caster sugar, 1 vanilla pod and 1 litre whole milk.
4	Bring to boil stirring frequently with a spatula or a wooden spoon, to prevent sticking on the bottom.
5	Rice is ready when it has absorbed all the milk, it should be smooth and remain slightly creamy.
6	Off the heat, possibly add 300 g real custard sauce (crème anglaise).
7	Your rice is ready, you can now divide it between small dishes and leave to cool.

Remarks

If you don't have crème anglaise, instead you can add 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk to in the cooked rice while it it still hot.
It's a question of taste, but I prefer my rice pudding warm rather than cold. So I frequently put the dish in the microwave for a few seconds before eating.
You can also consider sprinkling some sugar on top, and pass it under the grill to caramelize.

---