Baked Rice Pudding – Serves 4-6

From Grandma’s Best Recipes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp melted unsalted butter,

115 g/4 oz pudding rice,

55 g/2 oz caster sugar,

850 ml/1.5 pints milk,

0.5 tsp vanilla extract,

40 g/1.5 oz unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces,

whole nutmeg, for grating,

cream, jam, fresh fruit purée, stewed fruit, honey or ice cream to serve (optional).

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2. Grease a 1.2-litre/2-pint baking dish (a gratin dish is good) with the melted butter, place the rice in the dish and sprinkle with sugar.

2) Heat the milk in a saucepan until almost boiling, then pour over the rice. Add the vanilla extract and stir well to dissolve the sugar.

3) Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter over the surface of the pudding.

4) Grate nutmeg to taste over the top. Place the dish on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 1.5-2 hours until the pudding is well browned on the top. Stir after the first 30 minutes of cooking to disperse the rice. Serve hot, topped with cream, if using.

Grandma’s Tip: When measuring honey or syrup, dip the measuring spoon in hot water and dry it first to prevent sticking.

Today’s sloth takes a mashed potato dive in The Irish Pub Cookbook. This seems messy.