Creamy Christmas rice

Christmas rice porridge. Santa’s favourite.

My vegan version is  fluffy, white and light like new snow.

For two persons you will need:

1 dl of white rice, the type you use for rice pudding, soups etc. I used some white broken rice.

Preparation:

• Wash the rice and place it in a big cooking pot with 3 dl of water, some salt and a piece of cinnamon stick (you can also add a piece of vanilla pod: once the pod has become soft, pick it up, cut it open lengthwise, scrape it and remove the pod); let simmer on low heat.
• When the water has started evaporating and the grains have expanded, add 200 ml of almond milk (or the milk of your choice), stir and let it continue cooking on low heat with the lid on.
• Again, after a while when the liquid has almost evaporated and the rice is soft, add another 100 ml of milk, and 2 teaspoons of rice flour for some extra creaminess. Mix well and turn off the heat.
• Place a kitchen towel between the lid and the pot and let the porridge give itself a good stretch. The result should be neither runny, nor compact, but creamy and smooth.

This milky rice porridge is a sine qua non of the Scandinivian Christmas culinary repertoire, traditionally eaten for breakfast on Christmas eve, so you have some time to perfect it.  It is not sweetened. On the contrary, the secret lies in the salt, which complements the milk – whether dairy or non dairy – very well.

It is topped with sugar and cinnamon; Santa always adds some extra milk to it.

Ah, and if you are feeling playful, you can hide an almond in it; a sign of luck for the person who gets to sink his/her teeth in it.

Chick on a sleigh