№ 56[Auksta zupa 9: rīsu milti ar pienu]

Chilled milk soup with rice-flour moulds Serves 6 · 40 minutes, plus 3 hours chilling · Adapted from the 1796 recipe; not yet tested.

The book gives 3 egg yolks to 1 stops of milk for the sauce, which converts to 3 yolks to 1.25 l. The rice-flour pudding is unmeasured; those amounts are ours.

Ingredients

For the moulds:

• 90 g rice flour (not glutinous rice flour)
• 750 ml whole milk
• 60 g sugar
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

For the milk:

• 1.25 l whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1–2 tbsp sugar, to taste (our addition)

To serve:

• 2 tbsp sugar mixed with 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. Rinse 6 small moulds or ramekins (about 150 ml each) with cold water and leave them wet. 2. Rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until fragrant. In a bowl, whisk the rice flour with 150 ml of the cold milk until smooth. 3. Bring the remaining 600 ml milk and the lemon sugar to the boil. Whisk in the rice-flour mixture and cook over low heat, stirring all the time, for 5–8 minutes, until very thick. 4. Spoon into the moulds and smooth the tops. Let them cool, then chill for at least 3 hours, until set. 5. For the milk, heat the milk until it is about to boil. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl, whisk in a ladle of the hot milk, then pour it all back into the pan, whisking. Stir over low heat until it thickens very slightly; don't let it boil, or the yolks will scramble. Let it cool, then chill. 6. To serve, run a thin knife round each mould and turn the puddings out into a wide serving bowl or soup plates. Sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar, pour the cold milk over and sprinkle with the rest.

Notes

• What the book says vs. what we added: the book cooks rice flour with milk and sugar rubbed on lemon peel until thick, and sets it in small karaša or tart moulds to cool. Milk is boiled and stirred with 3 yolks to a stops; the rice is turned out of the moulds into a bowl, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, the milk is poured over and more cinnamon sugar goes on top. Mixing the rice flour with cold milk first, warming the yolks first (step 5), the sugar in the milk, wetting the moulds and chilling the milk are ours.
• Hot or cold milk: the book doesn't say whether the milk goes on hot or cold. As this is one of the cold soups, we chill it.
• Moulds: karašu jeb tartu formes were small flat moulds for little cakes or tarts. Ramekins, dariole moulds or a muffin tin will do. If the puddings won't hold their shape when turned out, use a little more rice flour next time.
• Servings: we kept the book's full stops of milk for the sauce, which is generous, so this serves 6.