Dr Mobeus
Creamy Rice Pudding
Rice pudding is the cheapest dessert in British cooking – rice, milk and sugar cooked slowly until everything turns thick and creamy. A hundred grams of pudding rice and a litre of milk make four generous bowlfuls for around £1.50, which works out at roughly 38p a bowl.
The stovetop method takes about 35 minutes with nothing more than a stir every few minutes, and it tastes nothing like the tinned version. Real rice pudding has soft grains suspended in cream, a spoonable texture and a proper nutmeg scent.
Serve it warm with jam or honey, or chill it overnight for a breakfast that costs less than a tenth of a coffee shop porridge. Either way it is a reminder that the old puddings stayed popular because they are genuinely good as well as cheap.
Creamy Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Method
- Put the rice, milk and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring so it does not catch.
- Cook over the lowest heat for 30-35 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the rice is soft and the milk has turned thick and creamy.
- Take off the heat, stir in the butter and let it stand for 5 minutes to thicken further.
- Grate over a little nutmeg and serve warm with a spoonful of jam or honey, or chill and eat cold the next day.
Tips and Variations
Keep the heat low and stir every few minutes or the milk will catch on the bottom. If the pudding thickens more than you like once chilled, loosen it with a splash of milk. For the traditional oven version, bake at 150C for two hours with a lid on and a sprinkle of sugar for the classic skin. Any leftover pudding warms up the next day with sliced banana on top.
