Scandi Rice Pudding + Vanilla Poached Apricots

Scandi Rice Pudding + Vanilla Poached Apricots | The Sugar Hit

 

You know how I know that you’re cool?

 

Because we would eat this for breakfast together. Anyone who could eat rice pudding for breakfast, and get that it’s a totally acceptable breakfast food, is fine by me. And of course, that includes you, right?

 

Scandi Rice Pudding + Vanilla Poached Apricots | The Sugar Hit

 

I think the person that eats rice pudding for breakfast is a lot more likely to be cool with other awesome things too. For example, my penchant for storing all my clean clothes in a pile on the floor in front of my chest of drawers, instead of in them. Or my ravenous desire for doughnuts at all hours of the day and night.

 

Someone who can’t hack the occasional rice pudding breakfast, well I just don’t know.

 

Scandi Rice Pudding + Vanilla Poached Apricots | The Sugar Hit

 

Would that person also be opposed to going to get dumplings at a quarter to midnight from the late night dumpling place? Would they not want to smuggle fries into the movie theatre? Most impotantly, what’s their policy on putting chips on a sandwich?

 

I’m a strong proponent of the ‘life’s too short’ philosophy. I wanna do everything once. So yeah, if you’re in the I-couldn’t-possibly-eat-rice-pudding-for-breakfast mindset, well I feel sorry for ya.

 

Scandi Rice Pudding + Vanilla Poached Apricots | The Sugar Hit

 

Especially when this is Scandi-style rice pudding. If anyone knows how to make rice pudding, it’s our friends up there in cold Northern Europe. This particular recipe uses only milk and water, no cream, and only a tablespoon of sugar. It is the creamiest, most luscious rice pudding, though.

 

The technique I used comes from Scandilicious by Signe Johansen, and it’s a cracker. You start the rice off in a small amount of water, and then let that cook away, before adding the milk and cooking slowly. This seems to let the rice develop a beautifully creamy texture better than cooking purely in milk.

 

Scandi Rice Pudding + Vanilla Poached Apricots | The Sugar Hit

 

And then of course, there are the gently poached apricots, floating in their intensely vanilla flavoured syrup. Vanilla is my spirit animal. And a splash of the reduced syrup over a bowl of creamy rice and tender apricots? Yeah that’s breakfast.

 

So are you a rice pudding in the morning person? Come join me! It’s fun.

 

xx Sarah.

 

Scandi Rice Pudding + Vanilla Poached Apricots | The Sugar Hit

 

Scandi Rice Pudding + Vanilla Poached Apricots
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Simple, creamy rice pudding with apricots poached until tender in a vanilla syrup.
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the rice pudding:
  • ¾ cup (150g) arborio rice
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 cups (500ml) milk
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar (or to taste)
For the apricots:
  • 8 apricots
  • 1½ cups (235g) caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • pistachios, to serve
Instructions
  1. For the rice pudding, place 1¼ cups (300ml) of water into a large saucepan and bring it to the boil. Add the rice and butter and cook, stirring occasionally until the rice has absorbed the water. Add the milk and sugar and place on a very low heat to cook for about 30 minutes until thick, creamy and the rice is soft. Be sure to stir it often so it doesn't catch and burn.
  2. While the rice is cooking, wash the apricots, slice them in half and remove their stones. Place the sugar, vanilla and 1 cup of water into a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and add the apricots. Let the apricots poach until just tender and then remove them to a small bowl. Bring the syrup back to the boil for about 4 minutes to thicken it, and then set aside.
  3. When the rice is ready, serve it on a platter with the poached apricots on top, a scattering of pisctachios and a drizzle of syrup.
 

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