Food & Wine
Rice pudding with apricots
Rich in flavour and wonderfully creamy in texture, this satisfying rice pudding is a modern version of a popular old favourite. It's flavoured with tangy orange zest and sultanas and paired with a cinnamon-spiced fresh apricot compote.
Serves: 4
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: Approx. 1½ hours
Ingredients
- 850ml full-cream milk
- ¼ cup (55g) caster sugar
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
- ½ cup (110g) short-grain rice
- ½ cup (60g) sultanas
- Ground cinnamon to sprinkle
- Apricot compote
- 300g fresh ripe apricots halved and stoned
- Juice of 1 orange
- 1 cinnamon stick
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the sugar and orange zest.
- Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the milk is almost boiling.
- Put the rice and sultanas in a shallow 1.5 litre ovenproof dish.
- Pour over the milk mixture and stir.
- Bake the pudding for 30 minutes, then stir well.
- Leave to bake for a further 45 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the pudding is creamy.
- Meanwhile, to make the compote, combine the apricots, orange juice and cinnamon stick in a heavy-based saucepan.
- Cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the juice is reduced.
- Remove the cinnamon stick from the compote.
- Sprinkle the top of the rice pudding with a little cinnamon, then serve hot, with the apricot compote.
This article first appeared in Readers Digest. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, here’s our best subscription offer.