Icelandic Rice Pudding

Jamie Oliver says "Rice pudding is an old English favourite, but it’s also really big in Iceland. They like to serve it with a sharp sauce made from red fruit, which cuts through the richness of the creamy sticky pudding beautifully – clever and absolutely delicious!" Posted for ZWT 6 from jamieoliver.com

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 1⁄2 ounces  dried fruit, such as cranberries, sour cherries and blueberries
• 3  tablespoons  superfine sugar, plus extra to taste
• 4 1⁄2 ounces pudding rice
• 3 1⁄4 cups milk
• 1  cup heavy cream
• 1  cinnamon stick
• 1  vanilla pod
•  fresh red currant, to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Put the dried fruit in a stainless steel pan with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and enough water to cover. Put on the stovetop and heat gently for 10 minutes, then add 5 tablespoons of cold water and whiz in a blender. Push through a sieve, taste and add a little sugar if necessary. Place the rice, milk, cream, remaining sugar and cinnamon in a deep pot and heat gently. Score the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape the seeds out, adding both to the pot. Stir well and bring gently to the boil.
2. Simmer very gently for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every now and then until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is just cooked. Spoon the cooked rice pudding into a serving dish, swirl the fruit sauce into it and scatter with fresh redcurrants before serving.