Persimmon Rice Pudding with Chopped Pistachios

My hubby, Brent, truly hearts rice pudding. He also has a sweet spot for persimmons because he grew up eating his mom’s famous persimmon bread pudding each Christmas. In my quest to marry these two desserts (and hopefully grease him up to finally hang the kitchen shelves I bought months ago!), I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light. The chopped pistachios sprinkled on top are a fun visual and a taste bud twist, helping to cut the overall sweetness of the pudding. It’s similar to when Kara’s Cupcakes serves their Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes with sea salt.

2 Hachiya persimmons
3 1/2 cups reduced-fat milk
2/3 cups arborio rice
1/4 cup honey
2-3 tablespoons sugar*
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons of pistachios, toasted and chopped

Serves 4.

Heat milk, rice, honey and sugar in a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. (If you aren’t using a good quality sauce pan, stir more frequently to prevent scorching). In the meantime, prepare puree by slicing the persimmons in half, scooping out the flesh and processing it in a blender or food processor for 1-2 minutes.

Stir in cinnamon and persimmon puree and heat through, about 1 minute. Pour rice pudding into individual serving cups and sprinkle with pistachios.

*I made this with 3 tablespoons of sugar, but if you prefer your rice pudding to be less sweet, try making it with just 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Tagged as: persimmons, pistachios, rice pudding