Stirring Up Some French Childhood Memories
I have a French ami who is not a chef but might as well be, he is a cuisinier extraordinaire, and an inspiration. So when he showed me a photo of his dessert du jour, a beautiful riz au lait with pears from his garden, I knew I would have to try it.
Rice pudding, as we say in English, is often seen on cartes in French bistros. It’s something that’s popular with kids here, and grown-ups as well. Maybe some of you grew up with it too? But I had never tried it—in the South, rice is typically salé, not sweet. For Ron, who is from Michigan, it brings back bad memories of his grade school cafeteria, where it was too frequently on the menu. Do the French make it differently?
I have spent many years in the kitchen stirring pots with our châtelaine, Nicole. She was visiting this week, and I told her I wanted to try it. Je suis specialist du riz au lait, she announced. Her grandmother had a great recipe. We went straight to the kitchen and got going.
Nicole shared some of her secrets with me. First of all, it’s absolutely necessary to use riz rond, or short-grain rice, because it has the most starch. For the flavoring, I had on hand some real vanilla extract, but no, that wouldn’t do—un gousse de vanille, a vanilla bean, was the only way to go. And, she likes to open up the rice grains with a little boiling water before adding the milk.
After that, it’s stir, stir, stir—she makes it like risotto, with constant stirring.
I suggested adding some orange zest at the end, but she passed along another cooking tip, from a chef friend: in a recipe, use ingredients which grow together, in the same region, and your cooking will be more harmonious. Vanilla and oranges grow in (slightly) different climates, so that was a no. Her grand-mère sometimes made riz au lait with orange zest, but in that case she left out the vanilla.
We caramelized pears in butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon for our topping. How have I missed riz au lait all these years?
RECIPE: Riz au Lait et Poires Caramélisée
This recipe is adjustable, you just use 1 part rice, 1 part sugar, 4 parts milk. We used 1/2 cup rice and 1/2 cup sugar with 2 cups milk to make about 6 servings. You can adjust the sugar to your liking; this version was firmly on the sweeter side. Note that most recipes call for occasional stirring, instead of constant, as Nicole does; if you choose to stir occasionally, keep it on the lowest heat and let it cook up to an hour.
Directions:
Put the rice in a saucepan and add just enough water to cover the bottom of pan. Bring it to a boil and stir for just a minute, to open up the grains.
Add the milk and sugar. Split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into the mixture, then add the vanilla bean to the mixture as well.
Bring to a simmer and stir until it has thickened, not quite to a pudding consistency, it should still be a tad soupy. This might take half an hour or more. It will thicken a lot as it cools.
Remove the vanilla bean and let the mixture cool. Serve it lukewarm or chilled, with the pear recipe below, or with any fruit you like.
FOR THE CARAMELZED PEARS:
Slice a couple of pears that are still firm. Sauté them quickly in some butter, then add a tablespoon of dark brown sugar, a generous squeeze of lemon juice, and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Grate in a little fresh nutmeg if you have it. Cook just until they are well glazed. Serve warm or cold over the riz au lait.
In the COMMENTS from the last post: Karim, thanks so much for solving the mystery of the restaurant name. I watched a bit of Dom Carillo et Peppone, so I could be au courant. Vicky, village to village is my favorite way to see France as well, though you are certainly more sportif! Chris, that’s funny about Semur because we were just there and the church was covered in scaffolding, so don’t go back yet. Ellen, je suis d’accord! It’s such a gorgeous country, one could never see it all. Francine, I did not know you grew up in Autun. It is boring no more! And Debbie agrees.
Thea it’s always good to hear from you, and shall we take a moment to bask in the glow of the blue wave? It’s been such a happy week!
Favorite READS: This week Natalia suggests the biography, Brigitte Bardot, Icon of A Century, and how could that not be a fascinating read? My friend Debbie recommends I’ll Never be French, about a newbie expat struggling with French life. Expats, you are sure to relate.
