Risotto-Style Strawberry Rice Pudding

I was thinking today that summer is almost half over and I’m not very happy about that. This is the first summer in three years we have not been in construction on the house. And I really have enjoyed relaxing without the sound of power tools in the background. So far we’ve had a gorgeous summer here in Illinois with warm days and cool nights and I’ve taken full advantage of it.

With all the construction behind us I’ve had time to concentrate on summer themed meals and it’s been fun. Our dinners have been light meals and my desserts pretty and refreshing. When I found Tyler’s recipe for Risotto-Style Strawberry Rice Pudding I knew I had to try it.

But when I read the reviews of this recipe by Tyler Florence, many people had problems with it being too runny so I decided to try a different method. I made my rice pudding in the oven like I always have. For the strawberry sauce I cut down the lemon juice to 2 TBL and added about 1 cup of Riesling and it was scrumptiously delicious! (**See Note on Riesling) I topped the pudding with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

The Risotto-Style Strawberry Rice Pudding was absolutely delicious. So much so that I had 2 bowls full this morning for breakfast. I’d like to try this with fresh raspberries or blueberries too. Definitely a keeper recipe and one that has room for much experimentation!

Strawberry Rice Pudding

1 quart strawberries, rinsed and hulled
3/4 cup sugar for the rice pudding and 2 TBL sugar for the strawberries
2 TBL lemon juice
2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 cup Arborio rice
Pinch kosher salt

My changes:
For the strawberry sauce I cut down the lemon juice to 2 TBL and the sugar to 2 TBL and added about 1 cup of Riesling and it was scrumptiously delicious! (**See Note on Riesling) I topped the pudding with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

1. Chop the strawberries.
2. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, add strawberries, 2 TBL sugar, wine and lemon juice. Cook just until berries are soft and the juice has thickened. Set aside to cool.
3. Cook rice per package directions.
4. In a 1 qt baking dish add the cooked rice, milk, salt, 3/4 cup sugar and seeds from the vanilla bean. Stir.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until all the milk has been absorbed. Cool to room temperature.
6. To serve, layer rice pudding and strawberry mixture and top with whipped cream and a spinkle of nutmeg.

**Wine Note: Chateau St. Jean’s Riesling is a very sweet white wine. Personally I did not care for this wine but used in desserts it is excellent.

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Tagged as: Lemon, Rice, Strawberry, Vanilla Bean, White Wine