Rice à la Maltaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1.2-litre dome mould or 1.5-quart rounded metal bowl
• •2-quart ovenproof saucepan with lid
• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Electric hand mixer or balloon whisk
• •Small sharp paring knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the oranges

   Pare three wide strips of orange rind, taking only the colored surface and none of the bitter white pith. Juice one orange and measure ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g). Cut the remaining five into suprêmes d’orange (sections freed raw from peel and membrane), working over a bowl to catch their juice. A small, sharp knife is better than force here; clean sections hold their shape on the dome.

   If membrane clings to a section, lay it flat and trim the membrane away. Pulling tears the pulp and leaves juice where the garnish needs structure.
2. 2

   Macerate the sections

   Combine the syrup sugar, syrup water, and one strip of rind in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir until clear, then simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the rind and cool the syrup completely. Pour it over the suprêmes and refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes. Keep the fruit submerged, but drain it thoroughly before decorating the pudding.

3. 3

   Cook the milk rice

   Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Blanch the rice in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain it well; this washes away loose surface starch so the grains swell without becoming gluey. Bring the rice milk to a simmer with the rice sugar, salt, and a strip of orange rind. Add the drained rice, cover, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring once after 20 minutes, until every grain is tender and the milk has become a thick, spoonable cream. Remove the rind and spread the rice in a wide bowl to cool to room temperature. If it sets into a stiff mass, fold in warm milk 1 tablespoon at a time until supple. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Cook the Bavarois base

   Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and leave it to bloom for 5 minutes. Heat the Bavarois milk with the final strip of orange rind until small bubbles gather at the edge, then cover and infuse for 5 minutes. Whisk the yolks with the Bavarois sugar until smooth. Remove the rind, pour the warm milk onto the yolks gradually while whisking, then return everything to gentle heat. Stir constantly until the crème anglaise reaches 180°F (82°C) and nappes, meaning it coats the back of a spoon and holds a clean line drawn through it. Never let it boil. If the first fine grains appear, remove it from the heat at once, blend briefly, and strain; the custard can still be saved.

5. 5

   Finish the Bavarois

   Remove the custard from the heat and whisk in the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved. Strain it into a clean bowl, whisk in the measured orange juice, and cool it to 75 to 80°F (24 to 27°C), stirring occasionally. Whip the cold cream to soft peaks, where it holds shape but the tip still bends, then fold it into the orange custard in three additions. If the custard begins setting around the bowl before the cream goes in, stand the bowl over barely warm water and whisk only until fluid again. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Join equal measures

   Weigh the cooled rice mixture, then weigh exactly the same amount of orange Bavarois preparation, about 400 g of each. Evaporation and orange size vary, so if one component is short, use that smaller weight from both rather than diluting either one. Stir one-quarter of the Bavarois into the rice to loosen it, then fold in the remainder gently. The mixture should be evenly distributed, pale orange, and airy enough to settle from the spatula in a broad ribbon.

   Equal weight is the home cook’s honest equivalent of the source’s equal quantity. This ratio is not brigade scaffolding; it is the structure of the pudding.
7. 7

   Mold and chill

   Rinse a 1.2-litre dome mould or rounded metal bowl with cold water and leave the faintest film inside. Spoon in the rice mixture, tap the mould once against a folded towel to settle hidden gaps, and smooth the top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, until set through the centre. The source used ice because service demanded it; a refrigerator gives the same cold set with less ceremony.

8. 8

   Unmold and cover

   Drain the suprêmes well, reserving their syrup. Press the mould briefly with a towel wrung out in warm water, loosen the rim with a fingertip, and invert it onto a cold round platter. If it does not release, repeat the warm towel for 5 seconds; patience, not hot water, keeps the surface intact. Cover the dome in close concentric rows of orange sections, reversing their direction from one row to the next, then brush them lightly with the rind-scented syrup. Serve properly cold. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a short-grain pudding rice or Arborio. Long-grain rice stays separate when this dish needs grains that are tender, swollen, and held in a creamy mass.
• •Sweet, seedless navel oranges give the cleanest suprêmes. Blood oranges suit the Maltaise association beautifully when they are juicy and sweet, but the title does not excuse dry fruit; this pudding truly needs good fresh oranges.
• •Use 6 g gelatin by weight. Powdered measures and sheet strengths vary, while the dome needs enough structure to turn out without becoming rubbery.
• •No vanilla, apricot jam, or candied-fruit salpicon belongs in this entry. Their omission is deliberate: orange rind in the rice, orange in the Bavarois, and raw orange over the dome.
• •A spoonful of Bavarois or rice may remain after the equal weights are measured. Chill it in a small cup for the cook. Never distort the ratio to avoid a little leftover.

Advance Preparation

• •Set the dome up to 24 hours before serving and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Its texture becomes cleaner and easier to unmold after a full night.
• •The orange syrup and suprêmes can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead and held separately from the dome. Drain the fruit just before arranging it so syrup does not soften the pudding’s surface.
• •The decorated pudding can wait in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Longer holding makes the orange sections weep and dulls their clean raw texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 200g)