TFF - Arborio Rice Pudding

Since the first time I tried risotto, I have been a fan. So when I found this recipe for Arborio Rice Pudding with Rum Raisin Mascarpone in Tyler Florence's "Dinner at My Place", I was sold. I also needed a recipe to create for Tyler Florence Fridays this week! Everyone root for me - one recipe from this week will be chosen to appear on Tyler's own blog! Hope mine's good enough!

The recipe on page 224 of the book called my name with its ingredient list; arborio rice....mascarpone cheese....dark rum....

I have to admit, I did make a couple of slight changes, but I don't think Tyler would be upset with me. I've never been a big proponent of raisins, so I grabbed a bag of Craisins out of the pantry instead. Since I really like the combination of cranberry and orange, I used orange zest in place of the lemon zest at the end and mixed it in with the pudding instead of just garnishing with it. I did use lemon juice in the soaking liquid, just because lemon juice seems to be more acidic and I thought it might plump up the cranberries faster than orange juice would have.

In the photo in Tyler's book, the pudding sure looks gorgeous, and fluffy white! By the time I added the cinnamon and the vanilla bean, mine was a lovely cocoa color. I picked up some wonderfully pungent Vietnamese cinnamon at Penzey's a couple of weeks ago, so I used that, and lucky me - I just got a new delivery of bourbon vanilla beans from the 2009 harvest at The Organic Vanilla Bean Company, so I was excited to find a recipe to use one in. Last but not least, Creme Fraiche is not exactly something I keep stocked at my house, but sour cream is, so I mixed that in at the end in place of the creme fraiche. I like the tartness of the sour cream anyway.

SO, here we go!

Arborio Rice Pudding with Rum-Raisin Mascarpone
From Dinner at My Place by Tyler Florence, Meredith Books (2008).
Serves 4 Time: 45 minutes

Rum-Raisin Mascarpone
1 cup raisins, packed tightly (I used Craisins)
1 cup sugar
½ cup dark rum
1 lemon, juice only
2 cups mascarpone cheese
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Pudding
3 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 cup Arborio rice
Pinch kosher salt
½ cup crème fraîche (I used sour cream)
Lemon zest (I used orange)

To prepare Rum-Raisin Mascarpone, soak raisins in a mixture of the granulated sugar, rum, and lemon juice. Muddle (squash) raisins with a wooden spoon to help them soak and rehydrate a little. Set aside while you prepare the rice pudding.

Ty was my little helper last night and was gleefully stirring the craisins in the rum mixture.....

Put milk, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean contents, rice, and salt into a large saucepan.

aren't these vanilla beans just lush and gorgeous?

Bring to a simmer over medium heat; stirring constantly.

Simmer Arborio rice for 20 to 22 minutes, until tender, yet firm (al dente). (The rice mixture should have slightly more liquid than regular risotto.) Remove from heat; stir in crème fraîche.

Strain the liquid from the raisins; reserve liquid. Combine mascarpone and cream and whisk until light and creamy in a large bowl. Swirl in the strained raisins and drizzle a little of the soaking liquid over top.

Garnish rice pudding with lemon zest.

Top rice pudding with a generous spoonful of Rum-Raisin Mascarpone. Serve pudding with additional Rum-Raisin Mascarpone on the side.

**Just a couple of notes: my pudding turned out a bit thinner than I anticipated, mainly because I prefer my rice more al dente than most people do so I didn't cook it quite as long, but it still tasted wonderful!

**Don't waste those leftover vanilla bean pods! I put mine in my bottle of homemade vanilla extract to keep the flavor building. I'll post about the vanilla another time!