This Almond Milk Rice is a Forgotten Delicacy

I've always been a huge fan of medieval culture. I love exploring how people lived at Renaissance fairs, watching and reading Game of Thrones, and doing all the other nerdy things people like me do. One thing I've noticed is the important role food plays in these cultures. Almond milk rice is one of these recipes that you don’t often hear about today, but was very popular in Europe a few hundred years ago.

There's a basic list of ingredients for this recipe with the Gode Cookery website, but it doesn’t go into detail about the actual recipe. With that and my love of all things medieval in mind, I decided to give cooking this one a try. Thankfully, experimenting with almond milk rice wasn’t hard at all, and I had my own recipe in no time.

I added a few ingredients, like cinnamon, and I have a few ideas on how to improve the recipe with a more modern spin. I added the cinnamon and a bit of honey because they're readily available in the modern era, and they help to give the dish a little sweetness and spice it desperately needed. To enhance the sweet flavor, you can also add a pinch of salt.

As far as new improvements go, I had a couple good ones that could make things interesting. First, I considered cooking the rice in jasmine or green tea to give it a more complex yet subtle flavor. Cooking rice with broth instead of water can give it some amazing flavors right out of the gate. The same goes for cooking rice with tea, so why not try it in this recipe?

My second idea was to enhance the creaminess of the dish. If you can handle the lactose, I recommend replacing the almond milk with a dairy product of your choice (I recommend half and half). You can also add some pumpkin pie spice for a fall feel that matches the cinnamon. Try combining these ideas and see what you get.

Almond Milk Rice

• Prep Time:0
• Cook Time:35 mins
• Total Time:35 mins
• Servings:4
• Easy

Ingredients

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract optional

• Step 1

  Add rice to a pot and add a little water until the rice is just covered. Mix the water and rice around a little bit so you can rinse off any impurities from the rice. Be sure to drain as much of this water from the rice as possible, leaving only the rice in the pot.

• Step 2

  Add the rice and water to a pot.

  

• Step 3

  Heat the rice uncovered on high until just boiling. Then mix the rice, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Let the rice simmer like this for about 20 minutes, or until the rice looks fluffy and has soaked up the water.

  

• Step 4

  Remove the rice from heat and remove the lid. Fluff the rice with a fork so the rice can cool quickly and stop cooking.

• Step 5

  Add the cooked rice and almond milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Continue heating while stirring continuously until the rice has softened and absorbed a majority of the almond milk.

  

• Step 6

  Add the cinnamon, honey, and extracts (if desired) and stir until well incorporated. Heat another few minutes before removing. Serve immediately.