Italian Rice Pudding

Love is in the air! We believe that romance starts with the stomach, after all, love is tasteless without food. Likewise, food is tasteless without love, hence, here’s a dish made with love for your lover. The sweetness of the strawberries adds an extra dimension and colour to the smooth, creamy succulence of the risotto rice. Finally, this is when the words ‘I Love You’ are not merely words.

Yes — that’s right: Italian Rice Pudding! Quick and simple, looks great and tastes even better.

Ingredients:

• 110g/ 1 cup Arborio Rice
• 625ml/2 1/2 cups milk
• 250ml/1 cup cream
•  150g/ 1 cup strawberries (hulled and chopped into chunks, keep some for garnishing)
• 50g/ 1 3/4 oz caster  (superfine) sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pepper
• Basil

Method

Put the milk, cream and vanilla extract in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to the boil, then remove from the heat. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Add the rice to the infused milk and return to the heat. Bring to a simmer and stir slowly for about 45 minutes, or until the rice is creamy. Stir in the strawberries in the last 10 minutes. Serve with a sprig of fresh basil, a dusting of pepper and extra strawberries.