Food and fellowship

Almond rice pudding: a classic favorite from the Mindekirken cookbook

LORI ANN REINHALL
Editor-in-chief
The Norwegian American

Food has always been an important part of  celebrations and fellowship at Min­dekirken. Over the years, the parishioners there have published a number of cookbooks popular throughout the Norwegian-American community.

These beloved cookbooks contain many tried-and-true traditional Norwegian specialties, and for the Mindekirken centennial  celebration, we are sharing the all-time crowd-pleaser, Almond Rice Pudding with Raspberry Sauce. 

This classic dessert is easy to make in both small and large quantities and can be prepared in advance of  your party. It  is sure to be a big hit with all your guests.

Almond Rice Pudding with Raspberry Sauce

Adpated from Shirley Evenstad 

Vær så god!  Recipes from Mindekirken, The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2016) 

Baking the rice

1 cup long-grain white rice

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. butter

2 1/3 cups boiling water

Bake rice in 350° oven in a covered casserole dish for 30 mintues—no peeking!

Cooking the rice with milk

Baked Rice [instructions above]

3 cups milk, plus another splash!

¼ cup sugar

2 tsps. almond extract

In a heavy saucepan, add milk, sugar, and baked rice. 

Simmer for about 25 minutes until milk is absorbed, stirring now and then. 

Remove from heat, add almond extract, stir, cover, and chill (usually overnight).

Making the Raspberry Sauce

2 bags (10 oz.) red raspberries

1 tbsp. cornstarch

Sugar to taste

Thaw raspberries.

Push berries through a mesh strainer to get the seeds out.

Put strained juice ina  saucepan and heat.

Add sugar to taste, depending on whether raspberries are pre-sweetened and if you like it a little tart to complement the rich pudding. 

Dissolve cornstarch in a little water and add to juice, whisking for 2 to 3 minutes until it thickens.

Put in a small serving bowl and chill.

Preparing the Rice Pudding

Cooked rice, milk, and sugar mixture

2 cups whipping cream

½ tsp. almond extract

Touch of sugar

1 whole almond, blanched, or 1 cup chopped, slivered almonds

Before serving, beat whipping cream (2 cups makes it very creamy; you can reduce the amount of cream). 

Add almond extract and sugar.

Fold in the rice mixture.

Serve in a pretty bowl.

Your guests can top their serving of Rice Pudding with a good helping of Raspberry Sauce.

Tradition is to add one blanched almond with a  prize to the person who finds it in their portion. Otherwise, you can ring the bowl with chopped toasted silvered almonds and a ring of Raspberry Sauce.

This article originally appeared in the Jan. 7, 2022, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.