December 22. - I think, I need to plan the hunt for the almond carefully this year. I really want the marzipan pigs from Summerbird.

Risalamande means rice with almonds, and even though the name sounds french, it is a danish dessert, dating back about hundred years.

This is the dessert 90% of danes have at christmas dinner on christmas eve. Normally the cook will put one whole blanched almond in the the bowl with Risalamande, which is served family style. The person who gets the whole almond gets a special gift. In many families the gift is a pig made from marzipan, or at least some kind of sweet or candy. As if you need more sweets and candy at christmas time.

Before risalamande was invented the norm was to start the christmas dinner of with a bowl of rice porridge. Maybe to fill you up with an inexpensive dish, so you wouldn't have to eat so much of the more pricy goose or duck roast. The Danish royal family still to this day start their christmas dinner with rice porridge.

Risalamande is served with a hot or cold cherry sauce.

This is how my mom made risalamande.

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients:

Rice porridge made from 1 l milk, cold
¼ liter heavy whipping cream (use organic, without any other ingredients other than cream/milk)
1-2 tablespoons sugar
1 vanilla pod, the seeds from.
A large handful chopped blanched almonds

Directions:

Whip the cream in a large bowl, until stiff peaks are just about to form. If you over-beat the cream, it will leave you with butter. (been there, done that).

Spilt the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife. Using the knife, mix the seeds with some sugar. This helps the seeds to distribute in the risalamande. You want an even distribution of seeds in the risalamande, like small black freckles.

In another bowl mix the rice porridge, sugar and vanilla. Use s couple of dollops of the whipped cream to soften the porridge. Fold in the whipped cream and the chopped almonds a little at a time. Taste the risalamande, so you won't put in to much. You want a fluffy light dessert, but not a bowl full of whipping cream.

Serve the risalamande cold from the refrigerator with hot or cold cherry sauce.

Enjoy.