Creamy vanilla and coconut rice with berries and lime
It’s the second week of our school May break and it’s lovely leisurely breakfast week! For the past few days, our mornings have started with cinnamon quinoa, baked apple oatmeal, pancakes and this indulgent vanilla and coconut rice porridge.
Rice porridge is one of the favourite breakfast dishes from my childhood. Ahead of her time, my mother used to make it with brown rice, with cinnamon and raisins. It’s a perfect dish to use up left-over cooked rice, which can be turned into porridge within minutes. When you do so while clearing away the dinner plates and leave it to stand overnight, you’ll have an effortless bowl of bliss standing ready for you at daybreak – a lovely start for busy work days and carefree weekend days alike.
Though I usually opt for wholegrain ingredients as well, this time I picked fragrant jasmine rice to go with the magic combination of coconut milk, lime and vanilla. The resulting porridge is creamy and delicately flavoured, with the vanilla and coconut milk making it just sweet enough so you won’t have to add any sugar.
Truth be told, this combination will work with any kind of rice, be it white or wholegrain. The latter will result in a more loose-structured and, in my view, slightly less photogenic porridge; it will in turn add a nice nutty flavour and the obvious health benefits. The choice is up to you – I wish you a wonderful start of the day.
Creamy vanilla and coconut rice with berries and lime – serves 4
Ingredients
- 400 g cooked rice or 150 g uncooked rice (I used jasmine rice for this one)
- 250 ml coconut milk
- 350 ml almond milk
- ½ vanilla pod, cut open lengthwise
- zest of 1 lime, in thick strips for easy removal before serving
- 2 small, ripe mangos
- raspberries, strawberries and mint leaves, for serving
Preparation
If you’re starting with uncooked rice, tip the rice in boiling water and simmer for 8 minutes until tender. Drain, if there’s any water left.
In a large pan, mix the cooked rice with the coconut milk and almond milk. Add the vanilla pod and the lime zest, then bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for a few minutes, while stirring well with a wooden spoon. Take off the heat.
If serving immediately, remove the vanilla pod and the lime zest, then divide the rice over 4 bowls.
Using a sharp knife, cut the mango cheeks off the stones. Peel, then slice thinly. Shape the slices of each half into a rose. Cut the remaining mango flesh into far less elegant chunks and simply munch them up while still standing in the kitchen, serve them in a separate bowl or reserve them for a snack later on. Serve the coconut rice topped with a mango rose, the berries and the mint leaves.
If serving the next morning, leave the rice to cool with the lime and vanilla. The porridge thickens overnight, so you might need to add a splash of extra milk the next morning. Before serving, remove the vanilla pod and lime zest and reheat if you wish. Divide over 4 bowls, top with the fruits and mint leaves and enjoy hot or cold.
