Today we’re presenting a delicious lactose and gluten free vegan dessert made with homemade almond milk originating from the Middle Age, if not before.

Although nowadays homemade rice pudding is mainly made with cows’ milk, in medieval times fresh animal milk was a scarce commodity which few families could obtain and the culture of plant milks was much more present and extensive than it is today.

The preparation and subsequent use of almond milk or any other homemade plant milk was a popular practice in the most modest families right up to palace kitchens. If you are interested in history, you can read Chufamix´s article on the history of plant milks which we were very excited to publish after having gathered information on their traditional use around the world.

Here’s the recipe! (Recipe´s description below the video)

Ingredients:

• 1 litre homemade almond milk
• 150 grammes white rice
• 100 grammes unrefined cane sugar
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 2 small bits of lemon peel

Preparation method:

1. Bring the milk to a simmer. When it is hot, add the cinnamon and lemon and leave it for 5 minutes so it can absorb the taste of the spices.
2. Then add the previously washed rice and stir for 20 minutes on a low heat.
3. Halfway through cooking we add the sugar and continue stirring until the rice is cooked and the sauce thickens.
4. Remove the cinnamon and the lemon peel and share out the rice pudding into individual bowls.
5. If you are going to keep it in the fridge for a few days, use jars with a lid.

Tips and alternatives

Depending on the type of rice we use, the amount of starch will vary and the rice pudding will be more or less thick. In our video you will see that ours was very thick. In this case, we recommend adding more almond milk (cold this time) to make it lighter.

Enjoy!