If your sofa is calling, you might be in need of fortification to power through that next binge-worthy television show. These cosy winter desserts are warmed up using both ground ginger for intensity and ginger root for freshness.
Fragrant with ginger, orange, cinnamon and cardamom, this creamy rice pudding can be served hot, cold, or anywhere in between. I not-so-secretly adore it for breakfast. The orange ginger syrup lends brightness and sweetness and is equally good made with maple syrup or honey. Discard the orange zest if you prefer. Its bitterness pleases my negroni-loving heart, so I leave it in.
PUDDING
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 x 400ml can coconut cream
1 cup almond milk
2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
pinch salt
SYRUP
two strips orange zest, thinly sliced
thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
¼ cup maple syrup or honey
2 tbsp water
Combine pudding ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, until rice is very tender. It will still be quite wet but will thicken further on standing.
For the syrup, use a peeler to take two strips of orange zest from an orange. Thinly slice. Grate the ginger, then squeeze its juice into a small saucepan. Add remaining syrup ingredients, then simmer for 20–30 minutes until the syrup has thickened a little.
Serve pudding with a drizzle of syrup and some strips of zest if you like. Leftover syrup will keep in the fridge for at least a week.
