We recommend using Lavington Farms' Carolina Gold rice from Food for the Southern Soul.
This isn’t your mom’s set-it-and-forget-it rice pudding. Think of it as a sweet risotto (read: lots of stirring). So pour yourself a glass of wine, you’re gonna be here for a while.
Tip: Don’t throw away that scraped vanilla bean: Nestle it in your sugar jar for vanilla-scented sugar.
Serves 4 to 6
Rice Pudding
1 cup Carolina Gold rice
Pinch of salt
⅔ cup sugar
4½ cups whole milk
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Zest of 1 orange
Bourbon plum compote (recipe follows)
Bourbon Plum Compote
This recipe makes enough for the rice pudding and more. Extra compote is delicious on greek yogurt and vanilla ice cream.
Tip: Feel free to use cheap bourbon in the compote: Most of the booze burns off, so save the good stuff for sipping.
½ cup bourbon
⅓ cup sugar
Juice of ½ orange
6 red or black plums, quartered and pits removed, then quarters sliced into thirds
Zest of 1 orange
In a pot large enough to hold plums, bring bourbon, sugar, orange juice, and ½ cup water to a boil over medium high heat. Add plums and stir to coat. Return mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove plums and transfer to a bowl. Continue to cook liquid until reduced by half (it should be the consistency of syrup). Stir in zest. Pour over plums. Store mixture in the refrigerator for up to a week or the freezer for up to three months.
Recipe by John Ondo
Photography by Leslie Ryann McKellar
