on rice pudding

I used to think rice pudding was gross (though, truth be told, I had never even tried it). Then earlier this year I went to London. And while having a meal at the Harwood Arms, I decided to to take the plunge and order the rice pudding for dessert (ok, mainly because it had the promise of first-of-the-season strawberries). That rice pudding was so good and changed my perception about the dessert forever.

Here's my version. Made with arborio rice, vanilla bean and way too much cream.

No more strawberries over here, so I topped mine with a dollop of warmed homemade rhubarb vanilla bean jam.

3/4 C arborio rice
3 1/2 C whole milk
1 C heavy cream
1/2 C sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1. Combine all of the ingredients (I even throw in the vanilla bean pod) and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes or until rice is cooked (I like mine with a tiny bit of bite) and creamy. Serve warm.