Food Of The Gods: Creamy Rice Pudding
Tasting this after making it created one of those edgy moments which sends a shiver down the spine. Sometimes that shiver might be dealt with by simply turning up the heating. But this frisson was more akin to one brought on by the cold realisation that an axe murderer is standing right behind you.
As I tucked into dreamy, creamy pudding perfection I couldn’t help but remember that we could all die tomorrow. And then the even worse thought hit me. If I hadn’t found this recipe and made it today I could have died tomorrow without ever making it. Chills!
It was a tweet from Marcus Wareing about another classic that set me on a roundabout way to discovering the rice pudding recipe, to making it and eventually shivering with that ‘what if’.
Many were introduced to this particular version of the custard tart nearly thirteen years ago as the first ‘Great British Menu’ series was broadcast. It was the dessert chosen to be served to the Queen and three hundred guests. It appears in chef’s ‘How to cook the perfect...’ so the pages of my copy were opened again to check its credentials. But there, twelve pages further on, was the rice pudding recipe which had previously unaccountably escaped my attention.
Right. We are back to the properly glorious subject of this post. The manifestations of rice pudding are many and varied… and their recipes fiercely defended. Here is a selection from Felicity Cloake who conducted some serious groundwork in this article from The Guardian in search of her favourite. Marcus Wareing gets a credit but not the ultimate nod. His recipe lavishes extra ‘custardy’ touches which raise it into something even more indulgent than a two hour ‘tray-bake’. It is also ready to eat in less than half that time. I have made, and still would make, other versions but this now has to be the main contender. Look elsewhere if you love a ‘skin’. This has none.
There doesn’t seem to be an official release of the recipe online but you could still search and discover that some bloggers have (ahem) ‘shared’ it.
My present diet which avoids anything chewy made this recipe even more attractive than it would have otherwise been. Avoiding the over-cooking of egg yolks is the main consideration here. Once that is addressed you have something relatively simple but simply sumptuous.
Ambrosia was brought to the gods in Olympus by doves (allegedly). Think of those doves and give them a day off. Give yourself a treat and some peace of mind. Make your own Creamy Rice Pudding. Soon. You know... before it’s all too late.
As for me. I can face the days remaining with stoicism now… knowing that I have rice pudding and the delightful, age-old dilemma of which jam to adorn it with. It’s all thriller and no chiller in these parts.