Rice Pudding with the Quickest Strawberry Jam

I saw Jaime Oliver make this dessert on his show several months back and immediately saved it. Jaime is a really fun chef to watch cook. I think his kitchen and set up is one of the most interesting on the food network. Seems like he is cooking in a shack in his backyard! I loved the idea of elevating rice pudding to an elegant dessert and thought the presentation was very pretty. Unfortunately because its white, it doesn't lend to photographing all that well. This was really good. The contrast of textures of the soft pudding, strawberries and crispy meringues went very well together. I think next time I would add some chopped strawberries to the top as well. This recipe could easily be made with blueberries or raspberries. I also would make a couple flavor changes to bump it up a notch. I would add vanilla bean paste to the rice pudding while cooking and possibly some orange or lemon zest. Overall, a great recipe to put your own spin on.

Creamy Rice Pudding with the Quickest Strawberry Jam

For the jam:

• 2 pounds strawberries, hulled, washed and drained
• 1/2 cup sugar

For the rice pudding:

• 5 cups organic whole milk
• 7 ounces medium-grain rice
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• 2 ounces store-bought meringues, crumbled( I used lemon meringues)
  
• Optional: a few wild strawberries, to serve

Place the strawberries in a wide, stainless steel pan and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Scrunch the strawberries up with your hands, really pushing them between your fingers to pulp them up - the mixture will start to look like jam at this point. You want all the sugar to dissolve in the strawberry juice before you put the pan on the heat and bring it to the boil. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes on a medium heat, and every 5 minutes or so come back to your jam to skim off the foam. Don't worry if it's still a bit liquid - it needs to be so you can swirl it into your rice pudding. Remove the pan from the heat and put aside. There you have it - beautiful, quintessential strawberry jam!

Meanwhile, place the milk, rice and vanilla sugar in a deep saucepan. Bring to a medium simmer and put on the lid. Cook for half an hour, stirring occasionally, until the rice pudding is thick, creamy, oozy and moist. If it ends up being a bit too thick, you can thin it down by adding a little more milk.

To serve, divide the rice pudding between your bowls. Spoon over a big dollop of your beautiful strawberry jam, then slowly swirl it in so it marbles and ripples through the rice pudding. Sprinkle over the meringue pieces and scatter with a few wild strawberries, if you like.

Source: Jaime Oliver, Jaime at Home.