I am a big fan of rice pudding. It’s one of those desserts that I really get strong cravings for. It’s so warm and wintery and comforting. This is sort of a variation on that theme, only way more decadent.

We were out of our usual breakfast yesterday (granola) and I didn’t feel like a plain old bowl of oatmeal, so I decided to riff on the recipe for marbled chocolate risotto in the lovely lovely cookbook Food for Friends. I included the coconut because we have a ton of coconut in the house left over from our wedding desserts.

This was so unbelievably rich and delicious and decadent. Definitely not the sort of thing you could enjoy every day, but it sure was good. It would be interesting to use coconut milk and omit the flavoring for a vegan version.

Chocolate-swirled Coconut Almond Risotto
(serves 2)

1 tsp butter
0.5 cup arborio rice
1 Tbs. dessicated or shredded coconut
2.5 – 3 cups milk
1 Tbs sugar
1/8 tsp. coconut flavoring
2.5 Tbs. grated bittersweet dark chocolate, divided
1-2 Tbs roasted almonds, chopped

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the rice and coconut and cook a few minutes, to coat and toast the grains slightly. Place the milk, sugar, and coconut flavor in a small pan and heat until warm. Keep warm on the stove. Add the milk to the rice one ladle at a time, adding more milk whenever the liquid is absorbed. Continue until risotto is cooked, 20-30 minutes or so. Stir in the almonds. Add 2 Tbs chocolate, stirring just to swirl. Place in two bowls and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate.