Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding

This recipe was created by Molly Wizenberg when she was writing for Bon Appétit. I made it with lactose-free cream because I could, but this is a recipe where coconut milk would work, too. This makes 6 to 8 servings, and it was really good.

1 ½ cups water
¾ cup basmati rice
¼ tsp. salt
3 cups lactose-free whole milk
1 cup lactose-free cream
½ cup sugar
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Bring water, rice, and salt to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer until water is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Add milk, cream, and sugar. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Increase heat to medium; cook uncovered until rice is tender and mixture thickens slightly to a soft, creamy texture, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes.

Remove pudding from heat and discard vanilla bean. Divide pudding evenly among small bowls. Serve warm or press plastic wrap directly onto surface of each pudding and chill thoroughly. (I like serving it warm, and nothing prevents you from having one big bowl in the fridge and scooping out individual portions as needed.)