I have been stopped twice in the street this week. "Have you posted the recipe for your chocolate rice pudding yet?" two friends asked as I was shopping (I put a sneaky teaser image on Facebook to see if any of my friends liked the idea). They did so here is the recipe in full.
The recipe is simple, quick, achievable and marries two classic flavours - rich dark, chocolate and tart, sweet cherries. I added some chocolate coated hazelnuts, chocolate leaves and wild drizzles of molten chocolate to make it really special.
The idea came from Delia but I have changed it quite a lot. I felt her recipe was just too rich (masses of crème fraîche and sugar stirred in with the rice as it cooks).
I have created a leaner version with no added sugar but you could add some if you want to. I simply wanted the flavour of cherries and dark chocolate to speak out with out too much sweetness.
The photographs are out takes from some work I have been doing with a company manufacturing plant milk. I like using plant milk as a change from cows milk. They have gentle, almost nutty flavours and they are easy to digest. They are also useful if you are lactose intolerant and the recipe works well with almond or oat milk. It is also delicious with traditional organic cows milk either full fat or semi-skimmed.
Chocolate rice pudding
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 800ml milk: almond, cows etc
- 40g dark chocolate (75% cocoa solids)
- 175g risotto rice
To serve
- 60g dark chocolate (75% cocoa solids) broken into small pieces
- 50g hazelnuts, gently toasted, skins removed
- cherry compote (I used Bonne Maman)
- 200ml crème fraîche (optional)
Method
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2, 300°F, 150°C.
Pour the milk into a large saucepan, add the rice and then bring it to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Meanwhile break 40g dark chocolate into small chunks. When the rice and milk is simmering add the chopped chocolate and whisk well until melted and smooth. Pour the rice mixture into an oven proof dish, give it a stir and place in the oven for 20 minutes, give it another stir and cook for a further 15 minutes until the rice is almost tender to the bite.
Meanwhile melt the remaining 60g chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of hot water until it melts. Dip the toasted hazel nuts in the melted chocolate, place on a sheet of parchment paper and cool in the fridge. To serve the rice pudding, stir any skin that has formed back into the pudding. Dish out onto separate serving bowls, scatter with chocolate coated hazelnuts and spoon some cherry compote on one side. Dribble any remaining melted chocolate over the pudding. A a dollop of crème fraîche would finish the dish perfectly.
ps.... I also tried to make some chocolate leaves by painting melted chocolate onto rose leaves. Not a great idea for a warm pudding as they melted!