Skye Gyngell Has a New Cookbook!

On Saturday, I got an email from Nancy with the news: Skye Gyngell has a new cookbook! How I Cook looks as promising and quirky as her last two cookbooks. To celebrate, Nancy proposed a meal, offered to make the main course, a lamb stew with peppers, tomatoes, and chick peas, and recruited Kathryn and I to round out the meal. Kathryn made slow-cooked courgettes that, on first bite, won over everyone at the table who had always been lukewarm on squash.

My assignment: rice pudding with sherry-infused prunes. Cool thing number one about the rice pudding was that it called for arborio rice. Great idea. Overall, it was a fairly simple recipe, with the primary ingredients of milk, cream, lemon zest (I used the first ripe lemon from my new tree), a split vanilla bean, and sugar.

It was everything I want in a rice pudding: creamy, rich and sweet but not cloying, with a perfect interplay of texture.

Picture to follow. For now, here's the recipe (caution: metric system ahead)

Rice Pudding with Poached Prunes

250g Risotto rice (holds flavor better than other types of rice)
900ml whole milk
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
peel of 1 lemon
small pinch of salt
150g caster sugar
200ml double cream

Poached prunes:
150g plump, soft prunes
4 tbsp Pedro Ximenez sherry
5 tbsp boiling water

Rinse the rice well under cold running water, then tip it into a heavy-based saucepan. Add the milk, vanilla pod, lemon peel and salt and bring almost to a simmer over a medium heat. Now turn down the heat as low as possible (a heat-diffuser mat is useful here) and put the lid on, placing it slightly off center, so it isn't quite covering the pan. Cook, stirring every now and then for 20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked but still retains the slightest bite.

In the meantime, stone the prunes and place in a small bowl. Pour over the sherry, followed by the boiling water and leave to steep for 20 minutes.

When the rice is cooked al dente, stir in the sugar and cream and cook for another 10 minutes. The pudding needs to be creamy with a soft consistency--it should drop easily from a spoon.

Transfer the rice pudding to a serving dish and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes. Serve warm, not piping hot, topped with poached prunes.

Serves 4-6