When I stopped eating dairy and gluten, I didn’t really know logically why I was doing it, but because I didn’t feel the need to reintroduce these foods into my diet, I figured I didn’t need them. After a few years, a functional medicine doctor confirmed that I had made a good choice, that my intuition had worked wonderfully. I learned to replace milk with plant-based alternatives, with cheese it was a bit more difficult, but I found that I can do without. I have adapted classic recipes, replacing wheat flour with gluten-free, natural flours, without mixes, and dairy products with plant based variants. I posted a white rice pudding with coconut cream some time ago, and now I’ve tried an exotic rice mix pudding for side dishes and salads, but I liked that the grain remained al dente, no it softened like the white one, combined with a home made cashew cream, only with a spoonful of honey for 2 servings. It turned out great!
Ingredients:
- 100 grams (one measure) of rice (I used Panzani Trigrano, mix)
- 2 measures of water
- 100 grams of cashews
- A spoonful of honey
- One tablespoon of coconut butter
- A spoonful of lemon juice
- Vanilla essence
- A pinch of salt
Method of preparation
Soak cashews in warm water for 2-3 hours. After it is hydrated, we wash it well. Boil the rice with the 2 measures of water and the salt powder. When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to minimum, put the lid on and leave it for another 10 minutes. We turn off the fire and leave it for another 15-20 minutes, during which it also absorbs the rest of the water. The rice I used did not soften at all, it remained al dente, exactly as I wanted. While the rice cooks on the stove, we make the cashew cream. For this we need a blender with a dough knife. I have an old and not very powerful food processor and at first I was afraid that the cream would not come out, but it came out perfect. So any type of blender will do. We put inside the cashew, honey, lemon juice, vanilla and coconut butter, together with 2 tablespoons of warm water, if the coconut butter is too strong, or cold, if it is oily. We mix until we get a creamy paste, and if it seems too thick, add a little more water. In the meantime, we stir in the rice to help it cool down. We mix the rice with the cashew cream, put it in the bowls and the dessert is ready. It can be served hot or cold. I decorated with pieces of papaya and candied apricots. It’s very simple and quick to make, as long as we remember to soak the cashews a few hours before.