Jasmine Rice Pudding ala our Wedding Cake for BRD

Lemon, Coconut & Vanilla Jasmine Rice Pudding

Developed for BRD by Jennie DK 9/6/2015 [in response to BRD purchase of 25-lb. bag of rice]

• 1 cup uncooked white jasmine rice
• 2 cups coconut milk (add water of more regular milk if using a can of coconut milk that is not a full 2 cups)
• 2 cups any fat-level milk or ½ & ½ (I use fat-free ½ & ½)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 vanilla bean
• 3-4 strips of lemon peel (zest only; use veggie peeler)
• 2-3 whole cloves
• 1 3-inch cinnamon stick and/or ¼ fresh ground nutmeg
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup any fat-level milk or ½ & ½
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon (2-3 drops) of coconut extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon curd (jarred or homemade)
• ½ cup sweetened coconut
  
  
  1.     Place uncooked rice in fine sieve and rinse well with cold water, let drain.
  2.     In a heavy 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, combine first 4 cups of the milks, salt, lemon peels (zest), cloves, nutmeg with the rice. With a paring knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add them along with the scraped bean to the pan.
  3.     Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil stirring often; this will take about 5 minutes.
  4.     Reduce the heat to low, maintain a simmer and cook, stirring frequently but gently, until rice is tender but not over-cooked mushy, 15-20 minutes; taste test to be sure. Remove pan from heat.
  5.     Preheat oven to 350 F. Lay coconut in a single layer on foil-lined sheet pan. Bake 8-12 minutes until golden brown, watch closely; to ensure even toasting, pull from oven 2-3 times during baking to stir with a fork then gently shake sheet pan to re-level coconut.
  6.     In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, whisk the egg yolks and final ¾ cup of milk with a fork until smooth. Whisk in about 1 cup of the hot rice mixture. Pour the “tempered” egg mixture back into the pan; stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended.
  7.     Stir in the ¼ cup sugar, lemon curd and coconut extract. [NOTE: adding sugar before rice is cooked will inhibit the rice from absorbing the liquid]
  8.     Put the pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is simmering at a slow boil, about 2-5 minutes. The pudding may seem loose when cooked and still warm; it will thicken when cooled.
  9.     Transfer the pudding to a 1 ½ qt. serving bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent pudding skin from forming. Set bowl in an ice bath to cool the pudding quickly. When cool, fish out and discard the vanilla bean, the cinnamon stick and lemon peel. Leave in serving dish or divide among 6 ramekins or juice glasses. Serve warm, or leave covered with plastic wrap and refrigerate before serving topped with toasted coconut.
  
  Variations and Additions: Substitute lime and lime curd for lemon; add rum-soaked yellow raisins; and/or add ½ cup pistachios just before serving (so they don’t get soggy); top with dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream or well-blended mixture of 3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese to 1 tablespoon lemon curd.