Rice Pudding with Blood Oranges in Vanilla Cardamom Syrup

Creamy, comforting rice pudding is topped with vibrant blood oranges and drizzled with citrusy vanilla cardamom syrup.  A sprinkling of toasty pistachios adds crunchy contrast.

I’m here!  I know my posting schedule has been a little topsy turvy lately, and I apologize!  I feel like learning the ropes of this whole blogging thing is just a never-ending process.  Just when I think I have the hang of it, another curve ball comes my way!

After the holiday season, I decided to scale back to a two-post per week schedule, and I was originally thinking Mondays and Thursdays would be perfect.  But after all the fun and crazy activity this past weekend, I got to thinking that maybe Tuesdays and Fridays would be better.  That way I can keep my weekends relatively open for quality time with family.  So, I had a fabulous chocolate Valentine’s Day post all planned out for yesterday but ended up getting snowed in for a day and a half, and short of one ingredient!  Gah!

So here I am, a day late, and with a completely different recipe than I had originally intended.  At least it’s a good one though, right?

Do you like rice pudding?  Isn’t it so old-fashioned and homey?  I actually never even had it until I was an adult.  Can you believe that?  But when I tried homemade rice pudding for the first time, it was love at first bite!  It’s soooo comforting!  I just adore the creamy vanilla with the barest hint of cinnamon…  It reminds me a little bit of crème brulee but with a little more bite and a lot less pretention 😉

This version gets amped up with the most gorgeous fruit that this frosty cold season has to offer: blood oranges!  They’re in stores now, so stock up while you can!  With all the snow, sleet, ice, white and gray, it’s such a breath of fresh air to feast our eyes on their vibrant, garnet color!

Just cut away the peel and slice them thickly.  Place them in a pot with some sugar and water and a few cardamom pods.  The cardamom adds a little exotic flavor and warm spice.  It’s a great compliment!  Vanilla bean paste rounds out the flavor and brings a hint of floral sweetness.

The rice pudding is as simple as bubbling some plain rice in milk, butter, and sugar.  After the rice soaks up all that goodness, the pudding is enriched with egg and spiked with vanilla and cinnamon.  I love to eat it warm!  But my hubby prefers it ice cold.  Either way…!

This recipe is a great way to use up any dried up, old, leftover rice from Chinese takeout.  I didn’t happen to have any, so I just steamed my rice in a pot with salted water and then spread it out on a plate to cool and dry out a bit.

Don’t you just love the contrast of bright, saturated color against all the creamy white? It tastes just as good as it looks, friends! The warm rice pudding is like a soft hug and the bright citrus is so bracing. And I really like the added crunch from a little sprinkling of toasted pistachios.

I hope you get your hands on some blood oranges, so you can try this fabulous dessert!  It’s such a fun twist on a classic, but really easy to make.  If you’re looking for a great way to use those gorgeous blood oranges, you can’t beat this comforting winter treat!

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Rice Pudding with Blood Oranges in Vanilla Cardamom Syrup

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

Creamy, comforting rice pudding is topped with vibrant blood oranges and drizzled with citrusy vanilla cardamom syrup. A sprinkling of toasty pistachios adds crunchy contrast.

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2 blood oranges
• ▢ 2 clementines
• ▢ 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) water
• ▢ 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 5 cardamom pods, (approx.)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, (extract can be substituted)
• ▢ 2 cups (316 g) cooked rice, (or 3/4 cups uncooked rice, simmered with 1 1/2 cups water and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt)
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups (354.88 ml) milk, (I used 1%)
• ▢ 4 tablespoons (59.15 g) unsalted butter
• ▢ 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• ▢ 1 egg, (large)

Instructions

 

For the Blood Oranges in Vanilla Cardamom Syrup

• Cut the peel and pith away from the oranges, and slice them approx. ½-inch thick.
• Place in a small pot along with the water, sugar, and cardamom pods.
• Bring to a simmer, and cook until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup has thickened slightly (about 10 minutes).
• Remove the pot from the heat and fish out the cardamom pods.
• Add the vanilla bean paste and allow to cool completely.
• Can be kept refrigerated, in a jar, for several days.

For the Rice Pudding

• Place the cooked rice in a medium pot and add the milk, butter, and sugar.
• Bring to a simmer and allow to cook (stirring frequently) until thickened (around 15-20 minutes; see notes below).
• Stir in the cinnamon and remove from the heat.
• Add the vanilla bean paste and the egg, stirring vigorously.
• Transfer to a heat safe container and refrigerate, or serve warm, topped with Blood Oranges in Vanilla Cardamom Syrup.

Notes

The rice will soak up a lot of liquid as it cools, so it's best to remove from the heat when it's still quite loose. If it seems too dry, add a little more milk to thin it out. I actually prefer my rice pudding a lot creamier than what you see in these photos, and I wish I had thinned it more for you before snapping the shots.

©Baking a Moment

Calories: 273kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 53mg, Sodium: 39mg, Potassium: 179mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 23g, Vitamin A: 381IU, Vitamin C: 15mg, Calcium: 96mg, Iron: 1mg

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert, Snack

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