Danish rice pudding with cherry sauce
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Late at night on December 24, when the Christmas Eve celebrations are over and everybody is in bed, I love to light some candles, curl up on the sofa and treat myself to a big portion of leftover rice pudding, risalamande in Danish. I just sit there and savour this moment of bliss – another Christmas Eve has gone by.
Ingredients
For the rice pudding
For the cherry sauce
Method
Step 1
Slice one of the vanilla pods lengthways, without cutting all the way through.
Step 2
Bring 300ml water to the boil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Then add the rice and boil for 2 minutes, stirring all the while.
Step 3
Add the milk and vanilla pod, stirring until it returns to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. The rice should be a little more than al dente, but not overcooked.
Step 4
Remove from the heat and stir in 2tsp salt and the sugar. Pour it into a big bowl and chill in the fridge until cold.
Step 5
When it is time to prepare the pudding for serving, remove the vanilla pod, scrape out any seeds left and add them to the rice. Then cut the second vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the seeds and add to the rice.
Step 6
Whip the cream in a bowl until it forms soft peaks. Fold a third of the cream into the rice to loosen it, then fold in the rest. Add and mix in the chopped almonds.
Step 7
For the sauce, mix the cherries, sugar and vanilla pod with 500ml water in a pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove vanilla pod.
Step 8
Mix the cornflour in 6tbsp water in a cup or bowl. Add to the sauce until it thickens, stirring constantly. Taste and add sugar if needed. Serve with the rice pudding
