Wednesday 6 September 2017

Baked rice pudding: cosy comfort food

Well that happened rather suddenly, didn't it?! One minute we're enjoying cheesecake and summer berries in the sunshine and the next minute IT'S AUTUMN and you have to leave the house prepared for all possible weather situations... so not much different from summer then.

The nights drawing in had me craving for some comfort food, specifically in the form of hot puddings. First on the list - and yes, there's more to come on this theme - a traditional baked rice pudding. Maybe it's the "back to school" vibe having an influence as this made a regular appearance on the school dinner repertoire. I've never made rice pudding before, partly because I'm quite fond of the Ambrosia tinned version and partly because the Bearded Argenitnian doesn't like it - something we're unable to test now as I ate the entire bowl "for research purposes" before he got home.


Once again I was surprised by the variety of recipes for what I had though was a simple and straightforward pudding. Recipes from the Dairy has a rich version daring from 1817, containing dried fruit and peel, brandy and eggs; Woman's Own Cookbook (1964) has got it completely wrong with a cold, gelatinised concoction; and Delia's Evening Standard cookbook from 1974 doesn't have a recipe for it at all! Thankfully, the Poor Cook and the Good Housekeeping Cookery Book concur with the back of the rice packet instructions and I don't see the point of meddling with perfection. Heating the milk before mixing with the rice doesn't make much difference except adding to the washing up, and other ingredients such as eggs, cream and butter make an already stodgy pudding even richer. 



Ingredients
(Serves 2 greedy people)

50g short grain rice
2 tbsp sugar
600ml whole milk
Nutmeg
Butter for greasing

Single cream and jam for serving



Method

1. Grease a pie dish with the butter, then add the rice, sugar and milk. Mix well and grate over the nutmeg.


2. Bake in the oven at 150C for 1.5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. If it's still runny, bake for another 20-30 minutes until firm but not solid, and it has a golden skin.


Serve with a splash of cream and a dollop of strawberry jam - perfect for a chilly autumn evening, and a million miles away from school dinners.







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