Apricot rice pudding with wine sauce

"This recipe is a variation on the classic rice pudding, which is very popular in Romania, considered by many of us to be the dessert of our childhoods. Here, I accompany it with a vanilla sauce and the dish is served chilled, proving that rice puddings are not just for autumn and winter seasons."

Apricot rice pudding with wine Sauce Credit: Matt Russell

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

There is a region in Romania that has a long tradition of growing rice. Rice paddies were established in a marshy part of the Banat region, western Romania, in the 18th century. Italians came here at the invitation of the Habsburg Empire to establish and manage rice fields, building ingenious irrigation systems, some of which are still functioning today.

Ingredients

• 50 g unsalted butter
• 150 g (generous ⅔ cup) arborio rice
• 500 ml (2 cups) full-fat milk, or as needed
• 200 ml (scant 1 cup) double cream
• 80 g (⅓ cup) golden caster sugar
• 1 tbsp orange blossom water
• 1 tsp almond extract
• zest of 1 lemon

For the sauce

• 1 small/medium egg (about 80 g)
• 40 g (3 ½ tbsp) golden caster (superfine) sugar
• 40 ml (2 ½ tbsp) sweet white wine or Romanian Tămâioasă

For the topping

• 4 ripe apricots, sliced (fresh or canned)

Instructions

1. Heat the butter in a large pan over medium-low heat until frothy, then add the rice and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often to avoid browning. Add the milk, cream and sugar, and cook until the milk is absorbed and the rice is soft, adding a little extra milk, if needed. Stir in the orange blossom water, almond extract and lemon zest and remove from the heat.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Beat all the ingredients together in a heatproof bowl, then set it on top of a pan filled with simmering water. Whisk continuously until it thickens, which can happen very quickly. Set aside until ready to serve. You can also chill it, in which case the sauce needs to be whisked briefly before serving.
3. To serve, place 3 large spoonfuls of rice pudding into each bowl, add a few apricot slices and pour some of the sauce around it.

Notes

• For a non-alcoholic version, replace the wine with orange juice, adding 1 teaspoon of almond extract.

• If the fruit is not ripe, you can roast it for 15 minutes at 180°C, drizzled with 1 tablespoon of honey.

• The pudding is equally delicious without the sauce or roasted fruit and if you don't have time, in which case I serve it dusted with cinnamon.

This recipe is from Tava, Eastern European Baking and Desserts from Romania and Beyond by Irina Georgescu, published by Hardie Grant (RRP $55.00). Photography by Matt Russell.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

There is a region in Romania that has a long tradition of growing rice. Rice paddies were established in a marshy part of the Banat region, western Romania, in the 18th century. Italians came here at the invitation of the Habsburg Empire to establish and manage rice fields, building ingenious irrigation systems, some of which are still functioning today.