RECIPE : swedish christmas rice porridge with tahini baked pear

this recipe – as well as the christmas beetroot recipe i posted a couple of weeks ago – is printed in the latest issue of german magazine welt vegan. they asked me to share recipes and a column on spending winter in sweden ( that i will post here in the blog within the next few days ), and i knew straight away that this recipe had to be in it.

swedish rice porridge is one of the most christmasy things you can eat in my book. we have it for breakfast in wintertime, usually on christmas morning.

as for the baked pear – that doesn’t really have anything to do with sweden or christmas. it’s just delicious !
it taste a little bit like a pear pie with the crispy and crumble tahini coating. yum.

swedish rice porridge with tahini baked pear
about 4 servings

for the porridge :
250 ml porridge rice (this is a shortgrain rice that’s very common in sweden, you can also use risotto rice like arborio)
500 ml water
750 ml plant milk, like oat or soy milk
1 cinnamon stick
1 almond
200 ml lingonberries (or whatever berries you prefer)

for the baked pear :
2 pears
2 tsp tahini (or other nut / almond butter)
a dash of ground cinnamon

to make the porridge :
– add rice and water to a large pot and bring to a boil. reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 mins under lid.
– add plant milk, cinnamon stick and the almond, and let simmer for an additional 30-40 mins without stirring, until soft and creamy.
– serve hot or cold, with berries, and an optional dash of cinnamon or added plant milk. it gets firmer when cool, so it’s perfect served as a dessert pudding.
– according to swedish tradition, whoever finds the almond gets to make a winter-themed rhyme !

to make the baked pear :
– preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
– cut the pears in half and remove the seeds.
– line a baking sheet with parchment paper. place the pear halves on the paper with the cut up and skin down.
– spread 1/2 tsp of tahini (or other nut or almond butter) on the upper half, and season with a dash of cinnamon.
– bake for about 40 mins, until pears are softened and golden browned.
– serve with rice porridge, or as a dessert in itself with soy yogurt or ice cream.