Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Vanilla rice pudding with poppy seeds and mango

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What do you do when without any reason whatsoever you keep forgetting things? Things like you have a class at 3pm, not 4 pm or meeting up with a friend you haven't seen for a long time or more importantly a doctor's appointment that you had to wait almost a year for??? I blame it on the weather (but then again I tend to blame everyhting on the cruel Canadian winter:)). What else could it be?! And of course we all know what to do to make things better when the weather is at fault: turn to some ultra soothing comfort food. This time I chose rice pudding with a twist. The milk, rice and some flavourings combination really works for me. Having tried other versions with cream, egg yolks, folded in at the end of cooking, or even coconut milk (all of which added unnecessary calories and made the pud taste waaaaay too rich) I can honestly say that this simple version is the best one. For me, at least.

Ingredients:

600 ml whole milk
4 1/4 oz caster sugar
pinch of salt
4 1/4 oz arborio or carnaroli rice
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp lime oil
1 mango


Heat the milk with the sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, add the rice. Reduce heat to low, and cook until thick and rice is tender, stirring occasionally (20 to 25 min). Remove from heat. Add poppy seeds, vanilla and lime oil. Garnish with cubed or sliced fresh mango.


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15 comments:

Culinary Wannabe said...

What a beautiful picture. I love the contrast between all the colors. At least you won't forget to eat dessert! :)

Snooky doodle said...

wow this looks fantastic and the colours amazing. the popy seeds look so nice :)

Meeta K. Wolff said...

oh i just love this the mango is special but i think it's the poppy seeds that makes this!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, I know just what you mean about forgetting important things. It's already halfway through the semester, and I still have to check my calendar every day to make sure I'm doing the right thing each hour!

This recipe is interesting, looks good. Do you think the poppy seeds add much besides visual? I haven't had poppy seeds really outside the lemon muffin/cake venue, so I associate them with lemon flavor. Even if they don't have a distinct taste, the pudding needed it for color, so I like it :)

Where did you pick up lime oil? I don't think I've seen it around. Can I just use lime zest?

Anonymous said...

Nice looking treat! Sounds like you need some rest and relaxation to help your memory reset itself.

Cherie said...

All of you are right. The poppy seeds do make this dish, adding more colour and crunch than flavour.
Brittany, lime oil is available in most gourmet food shops, but you can also use lime zest.
Dana, you are right. Rest and relaxation is what I need!

Anonymous said...

Hi Cherie.. lovely, lovely blog! Fantastic Post, and thank you for visiting.. you are SO bookmarked!!

Ash said...

This looks good!! I love the colours!

Anonymous said...

What an interesting combination of flavors! Never would have thought of using poppy seeds and mangos in rice pudding, which I love.

Brilynn said...

It almost looks like dragon fruit!

chriesi said...

Mmm absolutely mouthwatering!

Chef Fresco said...

I used to waitress at a Greek restaurant, so ate a lot of rice pudding. I can definitely say we never had any pudding that looked like this!

Unknown said...

I haven't tried this before, I am intriqued :)

Loving your pictures and couldn't take my eyes off that gorgeous spoon! :)

Leslie said...

Thanks so very much for your visit and comment on my blog!!!!
You have a very well done blog here! Beautiful photos and yummy recipes!

Anonymous said...

I agree, looks like dragon fruit, love it!