cook this: chocolate & orange rice pudding

This sounds mad, right? Chocolate rice pudding? However, I’ve learned to never doubt the gastronomy gods because the genius who merged chocolate and bacon (when I thought such a pairing should be outlawed) changed my life. One evening, as I was thumbing through Food Network episodes, I came upon Giada’s recipe for chocolate rice pudding. Orange zest, vanilla, satiny rice, unctuous thickened milk – how could it be wrong when it sounds so right? So I broke out the pots and measuring cups and got to work on this easy breezy recipe.

Fixing rice pudding on the stove is much like risotto. It’s not hard, you just have to want to linger in the kitchen for 30-40 minutes. It’s the constant stirring that’s the tricky part, really. However, on a snowy day like today it’s soothing, almost therapeutic, to stand over a pot fragrant with oranges, vanilla and chocolate.

Ingredients
5 cups whole milk*
2/3 cup Arborio rice
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest (from 1 medium orange)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise*
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tablespoons orange liqueur*
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
In a heavy, medium saucepan, combine the milk, rice, sugar, and orange zest. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean** and add the bean to the saucepan. Bring the milk to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender and the mixture thickens, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and discard the vanilla bean. Stir the cocoa powder and orange liqueur into the mixture. Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon the rice pudding into serving bowls. Cover and refrigerate for 2 1/2 to 3 hours and up to 1 day ahead.

*Notes: Please do not use skim milk, I beg of you. The recipe serves 4-6, but I stretched it to 8, which is approx 250-300 calories/serving. I know it’s vogue to eat reduced fat everything, but you simply ruin the flavors and consistency of such a simple recipe that is based on milk. While I completely understand the need to eye the fat we consume, I’m evangelical about full-fat baking – I just eat less of it. Call it discipline, insanity, what have you – I really urge you to make this as it is, enjoy the luxury of it, and don’t eat out of the pot (although I did lick the spoon). Also, vanilla beans are extraordinarily expensive ($5 at Whole Foods. WHAT??!! Madness, I tell you.), so you can substitute for 1 tbsp of pure vanilla extract. Additionally, you can nix the alcohol. I used triple-sec as I have it in my cabinet, and even though I’m a recovering alcoholic, I added the liquor while the risotto was on the stove (before adding all the chocolate) and the alcohol does cook out. But it’s up to you. You can definitely go without.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 10th, 2009 at 4:06 pm and is filed under foodie gal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.