Sunday, November 06, 2005

Rice Pudding and Spiced Apple

Rice Pudding and Spiced Apple

I can't claim that this is a British dish in the slightest but it somehow it conjures up a very British aura. Rice pudding is probably about as universal a dessert as you'll find, having a browse on the web I found references to Spain, Scandinavia, Italy and the Middle East. However, to me it conjures up winter in this country, steaming rice pudding with an enormous blob of jam in the middle making the whole dish go pink after you'd mixed it all up. I was thinking about how I'd probably be a bit ill if I attempted to eat that much jam in one go these days and I tried to figure out something that would keep the same vibe but not be quite so sweet. I had some cooking apples knocking around so stewed them with sultanas and cinnamon to add a more adult sharpness to the pudding. Here was a combination that really worked as an autumnal treat, the soft sweet milk tones cut with an apple sharpness and cinnamon warmth, like the smell of burning leaves in November with a hint of Christmas in the air.

3 comments:

shuna fish lydon said...

rice pudding in the air?

i made some recently too. it's really carnaroli rice poached in half & half. mmmmm fat.

because I love the taste of rice mine is only seasoned with vanilla bean.

cookiecrumb said...

Well! Why don't you have a look here?
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/foc/
Or maybe you already have.
(Oh, gosh, look at that cool shadow of the rice on the plate. Pretty.)

AnnaW said...

Hi MG,

Rice pudding is one of the few desserts of this type that school dinners didn't ruin for me (semolina with jam - YUCK). The spiced apple compote (to give it a fancy name - although my husband STILL finds it funny to refer to it as compost) sounds like a very nice accompaniment. I often have something similar with porridge to liven it up.