Recipe: Lemon Rice Pudding

If you like rice pudding at all, this is for you. When I first read this recipe in Laurie Colwin's More Home Cooking, with her description of how the lemon peel dissolves into the slow-cooked, creamy, pudding, I stuck my thumb between the pages and went straight to the kitchen.

This is the ultimate comfort food, not too sweet, and scented with lemon, perfectly acceptable for breakfast. The best part is the creamy texture, with the rice dissolving into transparent bits that melt on the tongue. Even if you are not one of those who love all things pudding, give this a try. It's absolutely heavenly.

Colwin lifted this straight from Jane Grigson, and so I have no compunction about offering it here to you. I really think she would approve.

Lemon Rice Pudding
serves 2-4

1 lemon
1/4 cup rice, jasmine or Basmati
1 pint half and half
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon rum (optional)

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Peel the lemon with a vegetable peeler and cut the peel into fine strips. Mix the peel, rice, sugar, half and half and rum, if you want it, in a small ovenproof dish. Put in the oven and cook uncovered for about 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 45 minutes or so.

When this comes out the rice will have almost dissolved, becoming more like tapioca than anything else. It will thicken quite a lot as it cools. Chill, if you like your rice pudding cold. I can't wait that long, and eat it barely out of the oven.

My notes:
• Half and half makes a very rich, thick pudding. I have used 2% and whole milk, which also make the pudding thick and creamy, and I really prefer them to a richer cream.

• Be very, very sure that you don't take any of the white pith off the lemon with the peel. You want only the very top of the rind, as any white pith will add a bitter note.

• Having said that, still follow directions and use whole peel; finely grated zest doesn't seem to work as well.

• The pudding will look loose and liquid even when it's finished. It will firm up considerably as it cools.

Related: Recipe: DIY Chocolate Pudding

(Images: Faith Durand)

Post originally posted November 30, 2006

Comments (13)

Hi there - I've got a question. I tried this recipe but used soy milk instead of the half and half. It didn't turn out at all - the jasmine rice didn't cook. At first I thought maybe it had something to do with the temperature of the oven (I want to confirm that it is 250 F, not 350 F) but maybe it was the soy milk? I don't know why that would be the case though - I thought you could pretty much substitute with soy milk in most recipes. I've only recently been using mainly soy milk in baking so I'm still learning what works and what doesn't.

Ooh, lovely. And I have a meyer lemon in my fridge.

Michelle and V, try it with vanilla soy milk instead of half and half.

Bumble, I have always used soy milk in my rice pudding instead of half and half or cream. But I have never cooked rice pudding in the oven either. I cook it in a pot on the stove without a lid. It usually takes about 30-45 minutes and you can always add more soy milk if it absorbs more. Also you don't have to use uncook rice. I often my rice pudding when I have rice left over from dinner before.

i bought this past weekend millet to make cereal for my 8 month son. SO I will try to make millet pudding - millet apparently is high in iron and they make millet pudding (who knew) so this recipe would be perfect for it. I try to stay away from white rice since it doesn't have a lot of nutritional value compared to brown rice, so millet is even better.

and for all rice pudding lovers in NYC - if you have not visited rice to riches - you MUST (Spring Street, btw mulberry and the other street over (forgot the name now)

ok. i have this in the oven now. beside one mishap- i shook the oven rack too hard and milk spilled onto the bottom of the oven- things to be going swimmingly.
ended up using whole milk and left over cream-which was maybe a tablespoon or 2

I am so jealous of people who can eat rice... just the scent of rice can make me swoon...

This is almost the rice pudding I used to make (back when I could eat rice) --

1 cup (raw) rice
8 cups whole milk
10 TB sugar
grated rind of 1 lemon
vanilla or vanilla bean

Cook first 4 ingredients in pot over the stove until thick and cream and rice is done, then stir in vanilla.

At Christmas, for a version of Danish Rice pudding, I would substitute water for some of the whole milk, and when cooked, stir in whipped cream and slivered almonds, and have raspberry coulis to serve.

Mmmm...

I'll try this baked version for the kids tomorrow -- less torture for me, since I won't be tempted to taste it as much as a stove-top version.

I just read this recipe in More Home Cooking last night. Good to know it is a keeper... I will try it soon.

I tried doubling this recipe, but the rice didn't cook. Still too crunchy even after extra time in the oven - any ideas why?

I ended up making this and had trouble with the rice too -- a little crunchy, a bit bland. Overall I found it easy, but underwhelming. Am I missing something?

Any reports back on the use of brown rice and/or millet? I have both and would rather not go out to buy white rice.

If you double the recipe, the time it takes to bake will probably go up. It also depends how deep of a dish you use. Basically this recipe is both reducing the milk and cooking the rice at the same time, so any changes mean some recalibration.