Culture

Winter is coming! Therefore, so too is pudding season! The smell of rice pudding baking in the oven reminds me of my childhood, but also of my first year at Carrington. I swear the abundance of rice pudding there was fully responsible for my fresher five.

I spent the Easter weekend helping my nana move into a smaller apartment within her retirement village. She no longer has a kitchen, which, as sad as it is, we all know is for the best. The contents of her kitchen got packed into boxes and transported away. I was lucky enough to inherit this beauty of a casserole dish.

Now, I am not going to sugar-coat this. Nana was never a good cook. By some miracle my own mum is one hell of a foodie. She definitely didn’t get it via the maternal line, that’s for sure. Nana was the roast-meat-and-three-veg kind of woman. She boiled her greens until they were grey. Nana does, however, have two redeeming features tucked into her culinary belt: shortbread and baked rice pudding. I am so pleased to be able to make this for you in her old ugly pot. Not that she ever made pudding in this particular pot, but you get the idea.

I remember when we all used to descend upon Matamata to visit her and the roast beef and grey veggies were followed by a delicious steaming dish of rice pudding. Dad and I used to, and still continue, to fight over the skin that forms over the top. This stodgy, sweet delight is a winter warmer for sure.

Baked rice pudding couldn’t be easier. Put all the ingredients in an oven-proof dish. Stir. Bake. Stir every half an hour. Dollop jam over the top. Consume. Boom town. Yes, I dollop mine with jam.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 5 tablespoons short grain rice (a calrose will suffice also)


• 3 tablespoons white sugar


• 3 cups milk (I used 2 cups trim 1 cup full fat)


• ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean seeds (or a splash of essence)


• ½ teaspoon cinnamon


• ½ teaspoon nutmeg


• 1 tablespoon butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees on bake. Take a small oven-proof casserole dish (of at least six-cup capacity) and place all the ingredients in and give it a stir.


2. Pop the dish in the middle of the oven and bake for two hours, stirring every half hour until the milk has been absorbed and the rice has cooked.


3. Remove from the oven and leave to sit for fifteen minutes to thicken up a little more.


4. Serve hot or cold with jam, slivered almonds or whatever your heart desires. Enjoy!