TEN years ago, when I was still cooking in the kitchen full-time, I had to try and recreate what I considered really poor English dishes – among them rice pudding which I have never been particularly fond of.
I think it must have been due to my school dinner memories which were not particularly good.
Rice pudding is a dish I now love and would choose to have. However, it needs to be made well.
This recipe is incredibly simple, but quite luxurious – I particularly like to serve it with seasonal fruit, and there is nothing more seasonal at this time of year than plums or damsons.
Take a reasonable bottle of wine and braise them, reduce down the liquid to make a wonderful alcoholic “plum jam”.
PLUMS IN RED WINE & BASIL WITH CREAMY RICE PUDDING
Ingredients (makes 4)
70g rice (Caroline pudding rice) soaked in water for 1 hour and drained
½ litre milk
1 vanilla pod split and seeds scraped
2 eggs
75g sugar
Method
1. Put the rice in a heavy pan with the milk, vanilla pod and seeds and cook until tender.
2. Cream together eggs and sugar in a large bowl
3. Bring the rice to a roaring boil and stir onto the eggs and sugar mixture, stirring well.
4. Leave to cool but occasionally stir the mix.
For the plums
Ingredients
4 plums
½ bottle of Italian red wine
125g caster sugar
6 leaves basil
Method
1. Cut the plums into half and remove the stone, place in a flat pan large enough to take the plums lying down and not on tope of each other. Cover with the wine and sugar, tear the basil leaves into two or three pieces and add to the wine. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes.
2. Remove the plums and keep warm, boil the wine until a thick syrup forms. Return the plums and toss gently before serving over bowls of warm rice pudding.
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