Winter rice pudding with mulled wine apples

I used to make a rice pudding that was baked in the oven for hours, but this technique – one that I learnt from Baduzzi – is cooked in less time on the stove. I love this with apples that I have cooked in a mulled wine, but you can eat this plain or with other fruits. I have found that sushi rice makes the best rice pudding – it might sound weird, but trust me on this one. This pudding is so incredibly easy to make and I feel as though it’s healthy enough to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In fact I think there was one day where I had it as all three meals!

SERVES 4-6

Ingredients

250 g sushi rice or any other short-grain rice (Arborio rice works well)
1.5 litres whole milk – or you can use a different type of milk (coconut would be lovely and so would rice milk)
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla paste
1 tsp cinnamon or 2 cinnamon sticks
Pinch of salt

MULLED WINE APPLES

250 ml (9 fl oz) red wine
100 ml (3½ fl oz) orange juice
2 cinnamon sticks
¼ cup brown sugar
3 large apples, peeled and diced 

1. To make the rice pudding, add all the ingredients to a saucepan.

2. Bring to a simmer and cook for around 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent sticking, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through.

3. To make the mulled wine apples, add the wine, orange juice, cinnamon and sugar to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the apples, and cover. Cook for around 20 minutes on a medium heat until tender.

4. Serve the rice pudding warm, with mulled wine apples on the side.

Note: Try serving this with tinned fruit, fresh fruit or berry coulis. I like eating this warm, with cold cream. Infuse the milk with bay leaf and nutmeg. To enjoy the rice pudding cold, allow it to cool and fold through 250 g  whipped cream. Serve with chopped berries or feijoas.

Images and text from Alice in Cakeland by Alice Taylor, photography by Lottie Hedley and Melanie Jenkins (Flash Studios), published by Allen and Unwin NZ, RRP $45.