Vegan rice pudding with pear & berry compote

• pudding rice↗100g g
• maple syrup↗1 tbsp tbsp
• vanilla bean paste↗½ tbsp tbsp

  or ½ vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

• unsweetened almond milk↗650ml ml

  plus an extra splash to serve (optional)

• pears↗2 ripe

  peeled, cored and chopped

• mixed berries250g frozen or fresh g

  frozen or fresh

• orange↗1 medium

  juiced, zest peeled into strips using a vegetable peeler

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold running for a few seconds, then tip into an 850ml baking dish. Mix in the maple syrup, vanilla, a strip of orange zest and almond milk. Cook, uncovered, on the middle shelf of the oven for 2 hrs until the rice is tender, most of the milk has been absorbed, and the mixture is creamy.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, put the pears, berries and orange juice in a small pan over a medium heat. Cook for 10-15 mins until the berries have broken down and reduced, and the pears are tender. Add a splash of water during cooking, if needed, to create a jammy compote. Leave to cool slightly. Add a splash more almond milk to the rice pudding if you prefer a looser consistency, then serve with the compote.