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Rice pudding for Mr Rice

Look at that chewy, caramelised skin – beautiful!

Excess milk in the fridge is the only excuse you need to make rice pudding. This is one of my top comfort foods, and it turns out Mr Rice likes it too. Like blackberry and apple crumble, every mouthful evokes childhood memories of cosy winter evenings tucking into warm pudding after a hard day’s leaf kicking or snowballing, wrapped up in coat, hat, gloves and wellies.

The key is to make it rich with creme fraiche, butter and brown sugar, and stir it at least three times during cooking.

Recipe for Rice pudding
65g pudding rice
5 knobs of butter
25g brown sugar
1 pint of milk
3 tbsps creme fraiche
grated nutmeg

Grease a pie dish, then whisk the creme fraiche with the milk until smooth and pour into the dish, followed by the rice, sugar and nutmeg. Stir carefully until it is well mixed. Then dot the knobs of butter on the top and cook at 150C for 2 hours. Stir every 20 minute for the first 80 minutes, then leave to cook so the caramelised skin can form.

Serve on its own or with a blob of strawberry jam.

© Katheryn Rice 2007

6 Bedroom House for under £300k

I have enjoyed many a happy meal in this dining room:

And many a teenage tantrum in this kitchen:

 

Sadly, that era is coming to an end as my parents are finally leaving sunny Doncaster. My mum is going back to her roots – they have chosen to spend their retirement in the salubrious surroundings of Cornwall. But first they need to flog their beautiful Edwardian house in Doncaster. Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested in this unbelievable bargain.

© Katheryn Rice 2007

Roasted vegetable & feta quiche with lentil and oat base

The special base for this quiche has been on my list of things to do for ages.

I love making quiche. It’s so versatile, and perfect for taking to work or as a packed lunch. You can put all your favourite foods in, in whatever combinations you like, and apart from the pastry it is pretty healthy. So, how can you make quiche without pastry? With a lentil and oat base of course!

Recipe for Quiche with a lentil and oat base
Base
125g red split lentils
1 onion chopped and sauted in bit of oil and butter
50g rolled oats
50g ground almonds
1tbsp tomato puree
1tsp dried herbs, or cumin, or garlic
50g grated cheese
1 beaten egg (or egg white if preferred)
Salt and pepper to taste

Filling
2 onions
1 red onion
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 Courgette
200 ml milk
2 eggs
4 tbsps creme fraiche
50g grated cheddar
200g feta, chopped into cubes

Chop all the vegetables, drizzle with oil and roast in the oven at 200C, stirring every 15 minutes while you prepare the base.

Boil the lentils in twice their volume of water for about 25 mins and keep stirring until they break down into a thick paste. Add the oats, almonds, tomato puree and seasoning so it forms a sticky dough. It’s too soft and moist to roll out, so press it into a flan dish with your hands. If it’s too moist add a few more oats and almonds. If it’s too dry add a little more water.
Carefully press the mixture into the base of the tin, levelling it out so it is at least 1cm thick all the way round. Bake the base in the oven for 15 minutes at 200C.

 

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a bowl, beat the eggs, then add the milk, cream fraiche and seasoning and whisk together until smooth. When the base is ready, place half of the feta evenly on the base, then spread the vegetables out on top, followed by the rest of the feta. Then pour the milk and eggs mixture over the whole thing, and top with the grated cheese. Cook for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Let the base cool for ten minutes, then slice and serve with a salad of your choice.

Tips

• Invest in a silicon rubber flan tin – this base is really sticky, and is tricky to get out of a metal base. The silicon base is much more manageable.
• Baking the base blind dries it out. If it is too thin, tiny holes will appear in the base, causing the filling to leak out as you pour it in.
• Be careful with the filling you use. Fillings with high water content, like asparagus or courgettes are likely to release more water during the cooking process. This can soak the base and make a watery quiche. Soak up the excess water with kitchen paper, or if you have time, leave the filling to dry out for a couple of hours before you cook it.

© Katheryn Rice 2007

Some facts about lentils

Later on today I am going to make something I have been planning to cook for ages: quiche with a lentil and oat base. In my bid to eat more healthily and follow some of the Holford Principles, I am trying to avoid carbohydrate-heavy food like pastry.

In the meantime, here are some wiki facts about lentils:

• They contain 26% protein – the highest content in any vegetable except soy beans
• Other goodness includes a high proportion of fibre (31% in green lentils, 11% in red lentils) and B vitamins
• Lentils have virtually no fat
• Half of the world’s lentil production takes place in India
• The largest exporter of lentils is Canada
• You can make a kind of savoury pastry from lentils and oats

© Katheryn Rice 2007

Mango Daiquiries at the Mumbai Oberoi & Welcome James Anthony Ravai

I may have reached Mango Daiquiri overkill, but I have been saving this post for a special day. This trip to India was the first time I had joined Mr Rice while he was working abroad, and I realised what a life of riley the telly people lead! I have no complaints though, as long as I get a share of it too. I love India, and Mumbai was as eccentric, chaotic, scary, funny and charming as expected.

This meal at the Mumbai Oberoi is one of my best memories of time spent with Mr Rice and his good friend Henry. The highlight of the meal was the toast – Henry told us that his girlfriend Rosanna was going to have a baby!

Congratulations Henry and Rosanna on the birth of James Anthony Ravai.

© Katheryn Rice 2007

Pisces, St.Lawrence Gap, Barbados

Moving a tiny bit further down the coast to St.Lawrence Gap, and the famous Pisces restaurant.

Beautiful setting, huge restaurant.

Scallops and shrimps in a thai red curry sauce was pleasant enough, but nothing out of the ordinary.

This dessert made the whole trip worthwhile. It was billed as ‘Key Lime Meringue Pie’, so by rights there should have been some meringue. There wasn’t, but one mouthful and all was forgiven. The light, buttery pastry held a heavenly lime curd, which melted together to make an ecstatic combination of loveliness. Caramelised sugar on the top sharpened and sweetened each mouthful to perfection. My only regret is that, like many ecstatic moments, it was over far too quickly.

© Katheryn Rice 2007

Warm chocolate brownie with white chocolate sauce, Accra Beach, Barbados

I can’t think of a better way to soothe a hangover than to lie on a boiling hot beach, staring at the blue sky and turquoise sea, and tuck into a warm chocolate brownie with white chocolate sauce and cream on the side. YUM.

© Katheryn Rice 2007

Very Bajan – Carib Bar, Worthing, Barbados

The buffet at the Carib Bar looked so nice I started eating before I got a photo. It’s the perfect example of the Bajan food we came across everywhere in Barbados.

Rice and Peas – Not just a filler, but a tasty dish in its own right, even better here with barbeque sauce
Fried Chicken – simple, ubiquitous, but always a winner
Breaded flying fish – traditional Bajan food – you can’t visit Barbados without eating it at least once.
Salad – counteracts the negative effects of all the treats
Macaroni Pie – the piece de resistance; cheesy, stodgy and moreish

© Katheryn Rice 2007