Not long ago, I got my wisdom teeth removed. This procedure gave me the perfect opportunity to experiment with smoothies. In my quest to innovate with flavor, I stumbled upon pistachio milk in the nut milk section of my grocery store. I had never tried it before, and it looked like a great candidate to combine with bananas and dates. The combination of pistachios and dates is one of my absolute favorites, and I use it a lot in my cooking.
Four days after my procedure, I found the courage to begin eating sold items again. I didn’t want to go too solid, though, for fear of the pain. I figured that a pistachio rice pudding could be delicious, and thus, I gave it a try. It turned out to be fantastic. Here is how I prepared it.
Pistachio and Date Rice Pudding
Delicious rice pudding that can be enjoyed as a dessert or a snack.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Pistachio Milk
- ½ cup carnaroli rice (I used sushi rice)
- ⅛ tsp of Spanish saffron strands
- ⅛ tsp of ground cardamom
- 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 small pinch of salt (to taste)
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Meyer lemon zest.
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- 6 dates
- ¼ cup Lightly roasted and salted pistachios
Directions
- Rinse the rice thoroughly in cold water to remove the excess starch.
- In a small saucepan, combine the pistachio milk, the rice, saffron strands, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, and vanilla extract. Let it soak for at least 30 minutes.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook until the rice is tender for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Off the heat, remove and discard the bay leaf, and add the sugar. Adjust to your desired level of sweetness, considering that you will be adding chopped dates.
- Chop the mint, the dates, and the pistachios and stir into the pudding, saving some to use as garnish.
- Let the rice pudding infuse with flavor for 10 minutes. Then, plate the pudding and enjoy it warm or put it in the fridge to enjoy it cold. Add pistachios and mint for garnish.
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