Lemon-Ginger Pudding

Savvy consumers are looking for creative ways to trim their food budget, without sacrificing great taste. And Melissa d’Arabian, host of Food Network’s Ten Dollar Dinners (also the title of her new book), believes no one has to.

“Eating on a budget is really about being a good steward of our resources, spending wisely, leveraging the ingredients we buy, and using them smartly,” she says.

Lemon-Ginger Pudding
(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
• Zest of 1 lemon, plus juice of 1½ lemons
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

1. Grate ginger into a medium bowl. Add lemon zest and juice and set aside.
2. Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Add milk and half-and-half, and whisk to combine. Bring the ingredients to a simmer over medium-high heat while whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick and starts to bubble, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and use a wooden spoon to stir in the ginger-lemon mixture and butter, slowly stirring until butter is completely melted. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and into medium bowl.
3. Cool for 10 minutes before covering flush with plastic wrap and refrigerating (at this point you can also divide the pudding into 4 dessert bowls and cover each flush with plastic wrap). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.