Vanilla rice pudding with apricot puree

Tamara West

A couple of things to think about before you get started: Make sure you have a 5-cup capacity glass or ceramic heat-proof dish to cook the rice in — one that will fit into your slow-cooker with the lid firmly in place. You will need to place a trivet in the base of the slow cooker — use an upturned saucer or use the screw-top ring of a preserving jar. This raises the cooking dish off the bottom, allowing the water to circulate. The dried apricots need soaking overnight.

Ingredients

⅔ cup	Short grain rice (Main)
1 tsp	Vanilla paste
3 ½ cups	Milk, full cream
2 Tbsp	Sugar, vanilla sugar is great here
1	Nutmeg, for grating

Apricot puree

125 g	Dried apricots, soaked overnight in enough cold water just to cover (Main)
½	Lemons, rind pared
1 to taste	Vanilla syrup

Directions

1. Heat the slow cooker for 20 minutes. Place trivet inside.
2. Place rice in a suitable dish, add vanilla paste and milk and stir to combine.
3. Place this dish on top of the trivet. Pour enough hot water into the slow cooker to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Cover with the lid and cook on high for 2 ¾ hours.
4. When cool enough to handle, carefully lift dish out of the water.
5. Stir rice pudding with a fork. As it sits the rice will absorb more of the milk.
6. To serve, spoon rice pudding into shallow bowls, dollop with a spoonful of apricot puree (recipe below) and drizzle over extra vanilla syrup. Grate over nutmeg.

Apricot puree

1. Place soaked apricots with any soaking liquid in a small saucepan with pared lemon rind and cook over a low heat until soft and pulpy.
2. Rub through a sieve and sweeten to taste with vanilla syrup.

Kathy recommends

Rice pudding can be served hot, warm or chilled. The apricot puree is not essential, but the tartness of the apricots works well here.