We had leftover white rice in the fridge from dinner the night before and I was so into the Christmas spirit I first thought to make a take on traditional Swedish rice pudding (which we eat as both breakfast and dessert, strangely!). I reached for the cinnamon sticks on the spice shelf but instead found myself grabbing a Christmas spice we normally use for baked goods – saffron! Did you know saffron is known mood booster? I always thought it was just bright and delicious but reading about the medicinal properties of saffron everything just makes sense. So; rice, saffron, some milk, a bit of butter, honey to sweeten… I added a couple of egg yolks to up the protein, and some collagen for a boost. It turned out DELICIOUS! If you don’t have leftover rice you can make it fresh, too. Just rinse the rice and cook the way you normally would but sub half the water for milk, then when the rice is near done you cook according to the instructions below.
2 cups day-old rice
1 cup whole milk
A knob of butter (half a tbsp, ish!)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp saffron
1/2 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp collagen
Handful of almonds
Rose petals (optional, for decoration)
Add the rice, milk and butter to a pot and cook on low heat while stirring well to make sure the rice doesn’t stick. Once everything is incorporated, add the salt, honey, saffron and vanilla and let cook until creamy. If needed, add more milk! When its smelling delicious, add the egg yolks and the collagen. The rice should be thick, creamy, and absolutely delicious (feel free to adjust the amount of sweetener you want!).
Chop up the almonds and sprinkle on top along with the rose petals (or any edible flower you might have at home!).
I served mine with cold milk and a gingerbread cookie, because I had just baked some the day before. And yes – it still counts as breakfast! Especially during the holidays. So delicious. I hope you enjoy!
xo
Rachel