Swedish food – a traditional Scandinavian Rice Pudding Recipe
I want to share with you one of my favourite traditional Scandinavian recipes – Swedish Rice Pudding with cherry compote. This is the ideal dessert to have after your Scandinavian Smorgasbord.
I am definitely planning this for Christmas Eve in our home this year. It’s really simple to make and so delicious. It’s a hit with adults and children. Another tradition is to hide a whole almond in the pudding and whoever finds it, gets an extra present. In Sweden this dessert is traditionally served cold. Whip the cream and mix it through the pudding to loosen it, then serve).
It’s also great when served hot straight from the pan on a cold day.
Ingredients
- 1½ litres/2½ pints whole milk
- 300g/10½oz short grain or pudding rice
- 15g/½oz butter
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, split, or 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 100g/3½oz blanched almonds, finely chopped
For the cherry compôte
- 500g/1lb 2oz cherries, pitted
- 100g/3½oz caster sugar
- 1 lemon, juice only
- 2 tsp cornflour
- Cherry liquer, to taste (optional)
To serve
- 100ml/3½fl oz double cream, whipped
Method
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Put the milk, rice, butter, caster sugar and vanilla pod into a large saucepan. Heat it very slowly, until almost at boiling point, then turn it down. Cook for around 30 minutes on a very low heat, stirring frequently to make sure it does not stick to the bottom.
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Meanwhile, make the cherry compôte. Put the cherries in a saucepan with the caster sugar, lemon juice and 300ml/10 fl oz water. Heat slowly, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for around 10 minutes until the cherries are slightly softened. Mix the arrowroot with a little water and stir until smooth. Add to the cherries as they are simmering and stir until the sauce has slightly thickened. Add the kirsch, if using.
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Stir the almonds into the pudding. Serve the pudding with a dollop of whipped cream and a large spoonful of the cherry compôte.
(This recipe originally came from BBC Food – http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/almond_rice_pudding_and_42007)
Enjoy!
Anna x