Chocolate Orange Rice Pudding With Raspberry Sauce

Submitted by bikerchick

"Comfort food taken to a higher level. This is from Organic Style magazine's "Fresh Meals" cookbook, I've modified it slightly to include the orange (if I hadn't been bringing it to work, Grand Marnier would have made it in to the ingredient list somewhere). I was not orginally looking for a potluck dish, but this looked so good and so simple, I thought I could bring it to work for one of our potlucks. I didn't think it would do well in the competition we always have, but it won first place! I quadrupled the recipe and served in individual cups, it wasn't much extra work than making a "regular size" batch (regular size is how I've submitted the recipe), my water bath was just simply what might work for my quantity, I didn't follow the 2 cups water step exactly. Prep time includes 20 minutes to make rice."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 4 ounces sweet dark chocolate squares, chopped
• 1 1⁄2 cups cooked rice, cooled slightly (an arborio rice works well, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
• 3⁄4 cup sugar, plus
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 orange, zest of
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1⁄2 pint raspberries (I used frozen, thawed)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Fill a large baking pan with 2 cups water and have a 1½-quart baking dish ready, but do not grease it.
3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook the half-&-half and the chocolate, stirring, until the chocolate is melted--about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the rice, ¾ c sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, orange zest and beaten eggs.
5. Whisk the chocolate half-&-half mixture into the rice mixture, combine well.
6. Pour pudding into the baking dish and place the baking dish in the water filled pan.
7. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Meanwhile, place the berries into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
9. Place the puréed raspberries in a small bowl with the remaining 2 TBSP sugar and the balsamic vinegar, mixing well.
10. To serve, spoon the sauce over the warm or chilled pudding.