Lazy Ox Canteen's rice pudding

  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

December 30, 2010
 

Downtown's Lazy Ox Canteen isn't a fancy place. In fact, for the first couple of months it was open, there wasn't even a sign out front. But chef Josef Centeno really knows how to cook soul-satisfying food. Nothing exemplifies that better than his rice pudding. It's a thoroughly grown-up take on the nursery treat. Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila raved: "It's dreamy, with sides of whipped cream and a deep caramel sauce, and definitely big enough to share." That it is. The recipe is a bit involved — besides the cinnamon-scented rice pudding, there's a caramel sauce and an almond brittle — but the payoff at the end is enormous. This is one rice pudding you won't quickly forget.

Lazy Ox Canteen's rice pudding

Total time: 11/2 hours, plus chilling time

Servings: 10 to 12

Note: Adapted from Chef Josef Centeno of Lazy Ox Canteen

Our recipes, your kitchen: If you try any of the L.A. Times Test Kitchen recipes from this week's Food section, please share it with us: Click here to upload pictures of the finished dish.


Rice pudding base

1/2 cup Arborio rice

2 cups water

Salt

1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick, preferably Mexican (canela)

1 quart half-and-half, more if needed

1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Rinse the Arborio rice several times until the water runs clear. This is very important, so that the rice will be evenly cooked and there will be no al dente grains.

2. In a heavy saucepan, bring the 2 cups water, a pinch of salt and the cinnamon stick to a simmer over high heat. Add the rice and simmer until it has absorbed the water, about 10 minutes.