Rice Pudding with Vanilla and Nutmeg

This is rather an old fashioned, “comfort food” recipe using nutmeg and vanilla to flavour the rice pudding. You could use other flavourings like rose water and cardamom or substitute coconut cream for the double cream if you want a more Middle Eastern or Carribean flavour.

1. Preheat the oven to 140˚C fan.
2. In a large oven dish (mine measures 10 x 7 inches (25 x 18 cm) mix the rice and sugar together.  Do not rinse the rice as you want the starchiness for the rice pudding to be creamy.
3. Add the milk, cream and vanilla and give the ingredients a good stir to combine.
4. Grate nutmeg over the surface of the dish and put the butter in the centre.
   
5. Bake in the oven for half an hour then give the contents another good stir.  Continue cooking for a further hour.
6. Check the pudding after it has been cooking for an hour and a half in total.  If there is still quite a lot of liquid, you can continue to bake for a further 20 minutes.  The pudding will continue to absorb liquid when it stands though so if you are serving it some time after cooking you may want to remove it before the extra 20 minutes.