Baked Rice Pudding with Stewed Rhubarb

1.

Preheat oven to 160°C.

2.

Bring the milk, cream, rice, sugar, vanilla bean and cinnamon quill to the simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, then remove the vanilla bean and cinnamon quill.

3.

Set aside to cool a little, then whisk in egg yolks and pour into a 1 litre-capacity ovenproof baking dish.

4.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden on top and just set.

5.

Remove from the oven, add a few knobs of butter to the top for extra richness and shine, then add a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg.

6.

To make the stewed rhubarb, remove any leaves from the rhubarb and cut the stalks into cubes and combine in a saucepan with sugar, vanilla bean, orange zest, rosewater syrup and water.

7.

Bring to a place on a medium-high heat, and bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves, then cook for 7-8 minutes or until rhubarb is tender.

8.

Remove from the heat, pour over strawberries in a bowl, add orange juice and stand for 10 minutes for flavours to infuse.

1.

Serve the rice pudding and stewed rhubarb warm, scattered with toasted almonds.