Light Vanilla Rice Pudding

📝 Ingredients

• 100 g arborio rice
• 500 ml water (to blanch the rice)
• 1 L semi-skimmed milk
• 50 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

🍴 Utensils

• Heavy-bottomed saucepan
• Colander
• Wooden spoon
• 4 ramekins or small glasses

📖 Steps

1. Bring the 500 ml of water to the boil in the saucepan. Add the arborio rice and blanch it for 2 minutes, then drain it in a sieve: this removes the excess starch and stops the rice pudding from turning sticky.
2. Rinse the saucepan, then pour in the semi-skimmed milk with the pinch of salt. Heat over a medium heat until it just starts to simmer, without taking your eyes off the pan: milk boils over very quickly.
3. Add the drained rice, stir and immediately turn the heat down to very low. The milk should barely simmer, with just a few small bubbles on the surface and never a rolling boil, otherwise it will catch on the bottom and taste burnt.
4. Cook uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom and corners of the pan well. If a skin forms on the surface, simply stir it into the rice.
5. The rice is ready when the grains are very tender and the mixture is creamy and coats the spoon, still a little runnier than you want: it thickens a lot as it cools. Then add the sugar and stir for 2 minutes until dissolved.
6. Take off the heat, stir in the vanilla extract, then divide between the ramekins or glasses. Leave to cool for 15 minutes to serve it warm, or cover with cling film pressed onto the surface and chill for at least 2 hours to serve it cold.
7. Just before serving, sprinkle each portion with a pinch of ground cinnamon. Stir lightly if the rice pudding has firmed up in the fridge.