I first tried rice pudding on a yoga retreat. It’s the most comforting dish; I love it made with Indian spices like cardamom and cinnamon. Rice pudding goes perfectly with stewed rhubarb – and any leftover rhubarb compote is great on top of porridge or on toast at a later date. Pudding rice can be hard to find (trust me, it took some time!) but no worries if you can’t find it. Just use short-grain or basmati rice, although check the cooking time for basmati as it cooks a little quicker.

Serves 2

Ingredients 

500ml rice milk or other milk

200g coconut cream

1 vanilla pod

1 cinnamon stick

1 cardamom pod

1 tbsp maple syrup

120g pudding rice or short-grain rice

2 tbsp flaked almonds, to serve

extra maple syrup, to serve (optional)

For the rhubarb compote

2 rhubarb stalks

2 tbsp maple syrup

grated zest and juice of 1 orange

First make the rhubarb compote. Finely chop the rhubarb into 1cm pieces.

Place in a saucepan with the maple syrup and orange zest and juice. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and allow to simmer for 15–20 minutes until cooked through. Keep warm to serve with the rice pudding.

Meanwhile, put the milk, coconut cream, vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod and maple syrup in another pot, over a medium–low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 10 minutes.

Then bring to the boil and add the rice. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring well, until the rice is cooked through. Take out the cinnamon stick, vanilla pod and cardamom pod (if you can find them).

Serve the rice pudding with a dollop of the rhubarb compote and sprinkled with flaked almonds on top, plus a drizzle of maple syrup if needed.

This recipe is taken from A Year of Beautiful Eating by Madeleine Shaw, published 20^th April 2017 by Trapeze in Hardback and eBook, priced £20/£10.99