Ingredient: port wine

A sure sign of summer leaving us is the arrival of the pear season, stretching from now until the end of December.

These rice pudding tarts with port pears are a combination of textures and flavors. Bosc pears are beautiful; they have a crisp, dense, slightly grainy texture with a sweet flavor and subtle hints of fall spices. Port wine is a sweet, red, fortified wine that pairs wonderfully with pears. What’s not to like??

Budino di riso: a kind of soft rice cupcake or vanilla-scented rice pudding baked in short pastry and sprinkled with icing sugar. Named after the principal ingredient used in the filling, budini di riso is a typical pastry coming from Siena, a medieval city in the region of Tuscany, located in the north of Italy.

Every summer, from May to July, until the 1960’s (and even 1970’s in some places), thousands of female seasonal workers would make their way to the Po Valley in northern Italy. Here, in the rice fields, they went to work as ‘mondine’. Their task was to remove weeds that could stunt the growth of the rice plants.

The compensation of these women consisted not only in money but also 1 kg of rice for each day of work. Hence the widespread use of rice throughout the region in both savory and sweet preparations.

This rice custard tart is a combination of a creamy, vanilla scented rice pudding with a caramelized top, all baked in a crisp shortbread pastry crust. There are many variations for this Italian classic. Some like to make it with a crust, others prefer it without. Other recipes may also add fresh squeezed lemon juice for a citrus flavor.

Today, rice is the world’s most widely consumed cereal grain, which means that virtually every culture has a rice pudding they call their own.

Part pie … part rice pudding, these little tarts can be eaten for (an elegant) breakfast, as an afternoon snack or for dessert, they are just plain good anytime.

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Rice Pudding Tarts w/ Port Pears

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Keyword

rice pudding tarts w/ port pears

Servings

MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients

Pastry

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 140 gm (10 Tbsp) butter, cold
• 3 Tbsp ice cold water

Rice Pudding Filling

• 1/4 cup Arborio rice
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 50 gm (3 1/2 Tbsp) butter,
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla

Poached Pears

• 2 cups port wine
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 pears, peeled, halved & cored

Port Wine Sauce

• Reserved wine from poaching PLUS enough extra port wine to make 2 cups
• 1/4 cup sugar OR to taste
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch

Keyword rice pudding tarts w/ port pears Servings MetricUS Imperial Ingredients Pastry 1 cup flour 1/2 cup rice flour 1 Tbsp powdered sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 140 gm (10 Tbsp) butter, cold 3 Tbsp ice cold water Rice Pudding Filling 1/4 cup Arborio rice 1 3/4 cups milk 1 cinnamon stick Zest of 1 lemon 50 gm (3 1/2 Tbsp) butter, 2 eggs 1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar 2 tsp pure vanilla Poached Pears 2 cups port wine 1/4 tsp cinnamon 2 pears, peeled, halved & cored Port Wine Sauce Reserved wine from poaching PLUS enough extra port wine to make 2 cups 1/4 cup sugar OR to taste 1 Tbsp cornstarch

Votes: 1 Rating: 5 You: Rate this recipe!

Instructions

Pastry

1. In a bowl, sift together flour, rice flour, powdered sugar, salt & baking powder. Add butter & rub together with fingertips to make soft crumbles.
2. In a small bowl, beat egg; add to flour mixture & work into a smooth ball of dough. DO NOT OVERMIX. Flatten dough ball & wrap in plastic wrap; chill in refrigerator.

Rice Pudding Filling

1. Place rice in a saucepot. Cover with water & bring to a boil. Rinse rice; return blanched rice back in saucepot & cover with milk. Add cinnamon stick & lemon zest. Cook over low heat, stirring often until rice has absorbed most of the milk & rice mixture becomes soupy.
2. Remove rice/milk mixture from heat & add butter; stir well. Place rice mixture in a bowl to cool. Stir & cool for about 20 minutes. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar & vanilla; add to cooled rice mixture.

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Remove pastry from refrigerator & divide evenly into 8 pieces. Form into balls & roll each one lightly in flour then using a rolling pin flatten into a small circles. Line 8 paper cups with pastry & place them in a muffin pan.
3. Spoon the rice pudding into the pastry shells & bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown on the edges & they test done with the tip of a knife. Do NOT OVERBAKE as they will become quite dry. Prepare poached pears.

Poached Pears

1. Peel, halve & core pears.
2. Place wine & cinnamon in a skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat; add pears. Reduce heat to low; cover & poach for 10 minutes. Turn pears; poach 5 more minutes or until tender. Remove pears from wine & set aside. When cooled, place cut side down on a cutting board & slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices Then into pieces to fit tart tops. RESERVE POACHING WINE for sauce.

Port Wine Sauce

1. In a small saucepan, place reserved cooled poaching wine PLUS enough extra port wine to make 2 cups. Whisk in sugar to taste & cornstarch. Heat to a gentle boil, whisking constantly until mixture forms a nice gel consistency. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.

Serving

1. Top each rice tart with a small fan of poached pears then spoon wine sauce over each. Nothing says you can't add a dollop of whipped topping as well!

Recipe Notes

You will probably have some of the pears left over. I just diced them up & added them to the sauce.