My husband is a very old fashioned man with very old fashioned tastes. If I want to make him extremely happy all I have to do is to make him a Rice Pudding. He adores rice pudding more than any other dessert execept for maybe apple pie and custard.
He is not overly fond of lemon desserts but when I saw this recipe for a Lemon Rice Pudding in a book I have called The Vicars Wife Cookbook by Elisa Beynon.
She won a cookbook deal in a Waitrose competition way back when I was still working at the Manor, and this book was the result of that. I have had the book for quite a while now and I am ashamed to say, this is the first time I have cooked a recipe from it. This pudding is an adaptation of the one in this book.
I really need to spend some time going through the book and seeing if there is anything else I might want to cook from it. It has never really been one of my favourites. Sadly today I discovered that she actually passed away in 2015. Its a really tragic and sad story. She was only 45.
Back to the pudding it is everything that a good rice pudding should be . . . it is rich and toothsome . . . comforting and the lemon flavours are an exciting twist to an old favorite. Even Todd who does not normally like lemon desserts said it was delicious.
It couldn't be any simpler to make. Short grained rice gets stirred together with whole milk and single cream (half and half). . . some sugar and lemon zest . . . and then baked long and slow in a low oven, giving it a stir every now and then. I used Paella rice because that is what I had and it worked very well.
At the end of it cooking it still looks quite thin, but you stir some lemon curd into it, either homemade (if you have it) or a good quality store bought one . . . and it magically thickens up so that it is just the right thickness. this is rich and lemony. I only had one taste and I could tell that this will even be fabulous served cold from the refrigerator. Todd practically licked the bowl clean!
*Lemon Rice Pudding*Serves 4 - 6depending on appetites Printable recipe
This tastes special without requiring a lot of effort on your part. Wholesome comfort.
75g short grain rice (6 TBS)600ml full fat milk (2 1/2 cups + 1/2 TBS)150ml single cream (scant 2/3 cup)2 TBS caster sugarthe finely grated zest of 2 lemons6 TBS good quality lemon curd
Preheat the oven to 150*C/300*F/ gas mark2.
Stir the rice, cream, milk, sugar and lemon zest together in a 1.2 litre/1 1/4 QT shallow baking dish. Place into the oven. Bake for 1 1/4 hours, stirring in the skin ever half hour. It will not look overly thick at the baking time, but don't worry about that. Stir in the lemon curd and more sugar if you think it needs it. Let stand for a few minutes and then serve. Not sure how it works but the lemon curd thickens it up very nicely.
If you are looking for a really simple, and delicious pudding to make for your family or friends this weekend, this will surely fit the bill on all counts! Rich and comforting. Bon Appetit!
