It’s incredibly hot right now. I’m tired, distracted and making small mistakes more often than usual. I feel like I’m moving through a haze, trying to balance dreams, reality, expectations and future plans. Maybe what I really need is a holiday.
Today I want to share the new G2Kitchen issue — fresh, summery and created with the same passion and enthusiasm as always. Sadly, this will be the last issue. It was an extraordinary experience: for a while I lived the dream of working with a real editorial team. Below you’ll find one of my recipes from the magazine, translated into English.
You won’t convince me that eating light has to be boring or joyless — and that we can’t enjoy something sweet. Take this rice pudding, for example: I might normally use cream and a touch more sugar, but for summer it’s easy to make a lighter version. The rice releases starch as it cooks, creating a naturally creamy texture without extra fat, and the vanilla bean adds an intense, tropical aroma that wraps the dessert in a delicate sweetness.
LIGHT RICE PUDDING
Ingredients:
- 250 g rice
- a pinch of salt
- 500 ml semi-skimmed milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split open
- 6 tablespoons sugar
Directions
- Cook the rice in boiling salted water for 15 minutes (or follow the package instructions). Drain and transfer the rice to a non-stick pan.
- Pour 500 ml of semi-skimmed milk over the cooked rice, add the split vanilla bean and the sugar. Gently simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to prevent sticking, until the milk is mostly absorbed and the mixture is creamy.
- Remove from heat and partially blend the rice with an immersion blender to achieve a smooth but slightly textured consistency.
- Portion the pudding into small bowls and chill in the refrigerator.
- Just before serving, dust with a little icing sugar or sprinkle with desiccated coconut. In this case I topped it with a spoonful of rose petal jam. It’s also delicious with a few tablespoons of chopped fresh fruit.
- I served the rice pudding with rose petal jam made by Emiko.
