Baked Vanilla Infused Peach Risotto

 

When things are up and down and the road does not quite take you where you had initially planned to go taking, time out to reassess your plan is usually a good idea. The weekend brought a lot of emotions and a bit of hectic. I feel like doing the ostrich and burying my head in the sand. Instead of unpacking, and re-organizing things, I spent my weekend baking, cooking and gardening. We had pretty much cleared away a lot of the plants, flowers etc. in our garden and it was looking bare. So instead of doing what was really necessary I did the unnecessary.

Tom was not impressed. While he put the shelves and closets up again I was in the kitchen baking or in the garden trying to take my mind off of things. I think the problem I am facing is that a final decision has not been taken yet. We are still uncertain of what the outcome will be. I really dislike the floating in the air without a path to follow – without moving forward. While alternatives are being discussed and one discussion follows another I am trying to bury my head deeper and deeper.

The kitchen is my refuge. And old fashioned sweet desserts my comfort. My take on a basic classic rice pudding was adding beaten egg white to give it volume and fluffiness and slices of fresh peach to give it a taste of fruity summer. The result was a wonderful warm dessert with all the comforts of the classic rice pudding but the excitement of an innovative classy dessert.

Baked Vanilla Infused Peach Risotto

Printable version of recipe here.

Ingredients

500 ml milk
125g risotto rice
20g + 30g + 30g sugar
1 vanilla bean, insides scraped
350g peaches, thinly sliced
2 egg whites
2 egg yolks
30g butter
Pinch of salt
Icing sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C. Lightly butter 6 small or 1 large oven-proof dish(es).
   
2. In a medium sized saucepan, bring milk, 20g sugar and the vanilla innards plus the bean to a boil. Add the risotto rice and covered allow the mixture to simmer gently for approx. 30 minutes. Stir often to ensure that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Allow to cool somewhat.
   
3. Using an electric whisk, beat egg white and the pinch of salt in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle 30g sugar into the egg white and beat for a further minute.
   
4. In a separate bowl, whisk 30g butter, 30g sugar and the egg yolks until thick and creamy – approx. 5 minutes. Mix into the warm rice mixture.
   
5. Gently fold in the egg whites and the peach slices into the mixture.
   
6. Divide the mixture into the oven-proof dishes. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and the mixture has set. Make sure that the baked risotto does not over cook in the oven as it will dry out. The end result should be a firm but creamy mixture.
   
7. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve warm.

 

Food Guide Tips:

Rice – the varieties!

 

 

 

 

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Verdict

Things can only get better – right? And we will get better. It might take a day or two longer but we’ll bounce back. In the meantime sometimes doing the unnecessary helps us to focus on the necessary and in this case it did. As we sat down and dipped our spoons into the warm creamy comfort of the baked risotto, ideas and plans started to pour out. The rich vanilla infused rice paired of with the fruity slices of soft peaches in a light and fluffy batter helped us to tackle the issues a little more lightly.

Nags over at Edible Garden is my gracious guest hostess for the Monthly Mingle this month. Her theme – Ravishing Rice prompted me to create this sweet treat. Hope you will join us!

More ravishing rice creations from WFLH:

Sweet Spiced Risotto with Cherry Compote	Risotto with Rucola & Bresaola	South African Chicken Biryani

 

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