If you are looking for a dessert that really impresses your guests, you have found it at the Norman Tergoule.
This dessert is a curious variant of rice pudding, a recipe that is present in many cuisines. The origin of rice pudding is India, from where it spread mainly thanks to the impulse of the Arab conquests from the 7th century.
At first, rice was used on toly thicken milk thanks to the starch it contains and then, over the centuries, it became a fundamental component of this dessert. Each gastronomy has its variant. Thus we find the Muhalabiya in the Arab countries, the Indian Kheer, the rice pudding of the Anglo-Saxon countries ... and even in several African countries it is a common dessert.
The Norman Tergoule has a very surprising feature that should not scare us: it takes 4 hours to cook it (!!!). It is four hours without assistance, of simple baking, but it is still a more than considerable amount of time. It takes such a long baking so that a caramelised layer forms on the surface, which is the grace of tergoule. The tergoule is a dessert that is preferable to make when you have used the oven in a previous cook, such as making a roast or chicken. Taking advantage of the heat of the oven you can prepare this rice pudding with minimal energy expenditure and leave it ready for dinner or lunch the next day.
INGREDIENTS (4 people):
- 75 grams (2.6 oz) of normal round rice (nothing of use steamed rice or the one that does not stick!)
- 75 grams (2.6 oz) of vanilla sugar (or if you don't have one, add an envelope of vanilla essence)
- 1 liter (2 cups and a half) of whole milk
- Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
In a bowl we mix all the ingredients and beat with the rods for about five minutes. In this way, part of the starch will be released and the sugar will be well dissolved.
We pour the mixture into a container that can be baked. They can be individual ramekins, clay pots or a Pyrex tray. We preheat the oven to 120 degrees (250 F), heat up and down, and introduce. It should be baking at this temperature for 3 hours, not one more, not one less.
After 3 hours we must remove it and cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil, raise the temperature to 150 degrees (300 F) and bake it for another hour.
You will notice a delicious aroma that floods the house thanks to the flavorings. Once the baking time has passed you take it out, remove the aluminum foil and you will see that a caramelized layer has formed on top of it. It is usually eaten warm but if you keep it for the next day my recommendation is to leave it in the oven already off and just heat it again with low temperature (120 F, for instance).
Totally deserving the time that has been dedicated to it.