Ingredients
- 3½ oz (100 g) short-grain rice
- 0.33 pt (200 ml) water
- ½ cinnamon stick
- ½ vanilla pod
- 2¼ pt (13 L) fresh milk
- 1¾ oz (50 g) butter, cut into small pieces
- pinch of salt
- 7 oz (200 g) sugar
- extra sugar for caramelising
How to Make It
- Heat the rice, water, cinnamon stick and vanilla pod in a pan over a low heat, stirring carefully to make sure it doesn’t stick.
- Cook until the rice forms a paste, then take off the heat and remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod.
- Heat the milk in a separate, large pan. When it comes to the boil, add the rice paste, stirring frequently for an hour or so with a wooden spoon to make sure the rice doesn’t stick.
- When the mixture starts thickening (it’s ready when you lift the spoon and there’s an indentation in the mixture), slowly add the butter, and then take the pan off the heat.
- Add the salt, and then slowly add the sugar. Note that the Spanish have a very sweet tooth: you might want to halve the quantity of sugar. The mixture will thin out at first, but when it thickens up again, it is ready to serve.
- Spoon the mixture into a large serving dish (could also be served in six ramekins).
- Sprinkle a little more sugar evenly over the top of the mixture and caramelise with a blowtorch (or put under the grill for a few minutes until the sugar bubbles).