Rice Pudding with Blueberries

Rice pudding with blueberries. Quite ordinary. So simple. Nothing new. … Correct, … but … it always goes down well with everyone, there’s hardly anyone who doesn’t love it, and yes, it is so simple.

Some of you might argue that making rice pudding involves stirring the rice and milk for almost half an hour. That’s true as well. But this doesn’t automatically mean it is a boring task. Quite the contrary! You can turn it into something special: let it be the story time for your children. Get your kids to help you stirring and tell them a story while preparing a delicious dessert.

How about Astrid Lindgren and one of her stories of Pippi Longstocking, Karlson on the Roof or the Children of Noisy Village,* all of which haven’t lost their charm and magic, even after all these years. Or let your children create a story! Give them some prompts, if they cannot come up with any ideas, or develop a story together, … Or use the time by the stove for chatting with your partner or friend. The possibilities are endless and time flies by.

For me, rice pudding is the ultimate comfort food, it brings back memories of my childhood. At the same time, it is a dessert that allows all kinds of variations, like using almond milk instead of cow milk, substituting white sugar with alternative kinds of sugar or honey, replacing the blueberries with raspberries, etc.

Go ahead, get creative, both in cooking and in story telling! 😉

Rice Pudding with Blueberries

Serves 4
1 litre (4 ¼ cups) milk (or almond milk or coconut milk)
160 g (3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons) risotto rice
60 g (1/4 cup) butter
60 g (1/3 cup) sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
some extra milk or cream (about 150 ml / 2/3 cup)

250 g (a bit more than ½ lb) frozen blueberries
1 heaped teaspoon cornstarch
25 g (2 tablespoons) sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

For the basil sugar:
1 handful of basil leaves
3 teaspoons granulated sugar

Slowly bring the milk (1 litre) and the rice to the boil, stirring constantly. Then reduce the heat to low to medium as soon as it starts to boil and cook the rice for about 25-30 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the vanilla, sugar and butter and stir until melted. Transfer to a bowl, cover with foil and allow to cool. Once it has cooled completely the rice pudding might not be creamy anymore. In that case stir additional cold milk/cream into the pudding until you get the creamy texture that you like.

Combine the frozen blueberries, cornstarch, sugar and spices in a saucepan and cook slowly until the blueberries are soft and the sauce starts to thicken. This takes about 5-10 minutes.

For the basil sugar, crush the basil leaves using a pestle and mortar, then combine with the granulated sugar.

Serve the rice pudding with the blueberries and sprinkle with some basil sugar. You can serve it as a warm or cold dessert.

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Here is the recipe for printing: