Greek Rice Pudding

Greek Rice Pudding

1/2 cup white rice

3 cups whole milk

peel of 1 lemon, removed in one long strip

1/3 cup white sugar, plus

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract   

Directions:

1 Place milk, sugar and lemon peel (just the peel - none of the pith) in a heavy saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar melts. Reduce heat to low and add the rice.

2 Cover the pan and cook until the rice/milk mixture has gone thick and creamy (about 30-35 minutes).

3 Turn off heat. Remove lemon peel and discard.

4 Whisk together egg yolks with corn flour.

5 Quickly whisk egg yolks into the rice mixture, stirring well. (If you want to, at this point you can also add a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract). Keep stirring to make sure yolks are incorporated and won't curdle.

6 Spoon pudding into four serving dishes and cool. Top with a sprinkling of cinnamon.