Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the oven to 325°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
- Combine all the ingredients (except the strawberry sauce ingredients) in a 2-quart baking dish. Stir well.
- Cover with parchment paper and then foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove parchment and foil and stir. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes more or until rice is tender. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon if you'd like.
- For the strawberry sauce, combine half of the chopped strawberries and the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook gently, stirring occasionally until strawberries have broken down and sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly, then add remaining chopped strawberries.
- Serve rice pudding warm, room tempearture, or cold with a generous spoonful of strawberries on top.
Nutrition
Notes
- Zest Best Practices: When peeling the orange zest, try to get only the bright orange skin. Avoid the white "pith" underneath, as it can add a bitter note to the pudding during the long bake.
- Make-Ahead: This is a fantastic "party prep" dessert. You can bake the pudding a day early and keep it in the fridge. Just remember that it sets firmly when cold.
- Rinse the Rice: For a less sticky pudding, rinse your long-grain rice under cold water until the water runs clear before adding it to the baking dish. This removes excess surface starch.
- Leftovers: Store the sauce and the pudding in separate airtight containers. If stored together, the strawberry juices will bleed into the white rice, which tastes fine but loses that beautiful visual contrast.