Rice Gelato - It's Chewy!

"It's chewy and I love chewy things!" This is what "A" said after trying this rice gelato.

This chewy delight is another one from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop. One of his taste testers (the "landlady" of his apartment in Paris) says it was her favorite of all the recipes she tried while he was putting together his book. As I flipped through the book, this is one of the reasons I wanted to try this recipe. Also, the thought of rice in ice cream just sounded so intriguing that I had to try making it.

I really didn't know what to expect when this came out. First, it involves baking the rice in milk. Then you puree half of the rice mixture and add it back before cooling it. The ingredients include vanilla bean, orange zest and nutmeg. Before freezing, it looks lumpy like cottage cheese and is very thick (below). What results is a starchy, chewy vanilla and orange flavored dessert similar to rice pudding but harder because it's frozen. During cooking, starch comes out of the short grain arborio rice adding a gelatinous texture to the ice cream. While I was eating it, I had a hard time separating the idea of eating rice that I had associated with savory dishes. Each bite surprised me by being sweet instead of salty or meaty, flavors commonly matched with rice. This one get very hard when frozen so be sure to let it thaw a bit before serving.

Here are a few comments by A:
"this gelatto has the bounce and chewiness reminiscent of mochi, my favorite japanese sweet.  i absolutely loved it!  it's just so unique!  Had me wanting more hours after my first taste!"

-----------------------------------------------------
Rice Gelato
adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop

Ingredients
1/2 cup Italian Arborio rice (imported is better i think)
3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean split in half lengthwise
two 1-inch strips of orange zest
5 large eggs yolks
1 cup half and half or cream (i used cream)
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:
1. In a 2 quart baking dish, mix together rice, milk, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, vanilla bean, orange zest.
2. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.
3. Remove foil and stir in remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered.
4. Remove from oven. Remove vanilla bean and vigorously whisk in egg yolks. Whisk in 1 cup cream and nutmeg.
5. Puree half of rice mixture in food processor or blender and return to mixture. Chill then freeze in ice cream maker.