Boozy Grown Up Rice Pudding

I love rice pudding.  No scrap that for I love a well made rice pudding.  I had an amazing one at either the Three Fishes or The Clog & Billycock that was served with sultanas soaked in mead.  Just lovely......

I was watching a marathon of Barefoot Contessa programs yesterday afternoon; the weather was horrible & dreary, OH was out torturing himself in a football tournament all day and good old Ina did a perfect recipe for cheering yourself up on a miserable and somewhat cold day......rice pudding.

Not your typical nursery style pudding that everyone fondly remembers, but a far more adult affair.  We weren't eating till late and I had a few hours to kill so I went in search of pudding rice...

Pudding rice located at the back of the cupboard, I began with soaking a good handful of raisins in rum for a couple of hours until they were all plump and juicy with the alcohol and I then set about working on the pudding itself.  It took about 2 hours all in all, but it just basically sat there on the hob with me giving it an occasional stir, so not much hardship.  Some people bake a rice pudding in the oven, but it doesn't really make much difference either way.

Basically, put the rice in a pan along with the sugar and milk & cream, a good slug of vanilla and keep it on a low simmer, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.  Once the mixture starts to thicken as the rice cooks, add the raisins (excess liquid and all) to the mix and stir in.  Just before the end I added chopped pecans which give a nice crunch and a good measure of maple syrup along with another tablespoon of cream.  To serve I added another dollop of cream on top with a drizzle of maple syrup over.

Spoon at the ready and dive in........perfect way to round off a damp and cold day, even though its blummin' June and it feels like winter! OH settled down in the chair with a nice contented sigh and proclaimed its was very good.....very good indeed!

Boozy Grown Up Rice Pudding Recipe
150g pudding rice (or basmati can be used or even risotto rice)
75g caster sugar
600 ml milk
250 ml cream (or you can use all milk or more cream just so long as it adds up to 850 ml of liquid)
2 tsp vanilla extract (try not to use essence if you can help it)
handful raisins soaked in about 30ml of rum (or any other alcohol you have to hand, brandy, whisky etc)
handful of pecan nuts chopped
1 tbspn maple syrup (optional), plus extra for drizzling

Total Cooking Time - About 2 hours on a low heat.  Will sit quite happy for longer, just add a little more liquid if you feel its getting too 'sticky'