Cardamom Teurgoule with Brandied Pears and Anise

A comforting, and extremely local thing, given a bit of an (entirely sacrilegious) update. Teurgoule is a slow-cooked rice pudding, traditionally made with cinnamon and nutmeg. If you live in France’s second largest dairy producing region, it makes sense that you would take advantage of the litres of milk available to you. The pudding is served at community events (fetes, vide greniers etc), where you can see people perusing the wares (of varying levels of dubiousness) with a paper carton in hand. In Basse-Normandie teurgoule is a serious business. There is a brotherhood dedicated to the dish who meet every year in October to hold a national competition for the best recipe. They have robes and hats and what not, it is a thing. A number of origin stories adhere to the name of the dish, one of which is that it comes from the Norman French for ‘twist mouth’ a reference to either the spiciness of the pudding, or the temptation to eat it while it is still too hot. Other sources derive it from the Breton word for ‘fat milk’. I have changed up the spicing here as Christmas approaches and so too the ubiquity of cinnamon but feel free to add it if you feel the urge.

Serves 4

Ingredients

200g Pudding Rice
200g Caster Sugar (pretty much any sugar will work here due to the long cooking though muscovado will probably be too much of a good thing)
2 litres Whole Milk (or 1 litre double cream/1 litre whole milk if you are feeling indulgent. It is nearly Christmas after all)
5 Cardamom Pods
2 Pears (Conference for preference, their elegant taper is just more pleasing and they are in season just now)
5 Tbsp Water
5 Tbsp Brandy (Whatever you used for the Christmas cake or pudding will be just fine)
5 Tbsp Brown Sugar
3 Star Anise

Method

1) Pre-heat the oven to 150c. Mix the rice and sugar together in an oven proof dish. Lightly crush your cardamom pods and add them to a saucepan along with your milk/milk and cream. Allow to come to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Allow to infuse for around 10 minutes or so.
2) Strain the milk into the rice and sugar mixture and stir well, discarding the cardamom pods.
3) Bake in the oven for around three hours. During this time a deep brown crust will form on the top of the teurgoule. This is what we are after, so don’t be put off.
4) While the teurgoule is cooking, brandy your pears. Peel the pears, slice down the middle and core. Combine the brandy, water, sugar and star anise in a saucepan large enough for your pear halves. Add the pears and allow to simmer over a medium heat until they will take the point of a knife and the sauce is beginning to thicken slightly. This will take as long as it takes, pears are inscrutable in this way. Once they are cooked, they will sit happily in their sauce until you are ready to serve.
5) Serve the teurgoule topped with a poached pear half. Some people prize the caramelised crust on the top, others remove it: you must follow your instincts here. I favour removing it in this case as the pale rice provides a more aesthetically pleasing backdrop to the pears. Ideally it will be raining torrentially outside, and cold enough to justify this pudding’s rib sticking richness. I recommend it to follow a frugal supper – soup or a winter salad, something of that nature.