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Tarte au riz
Verviers rice tart: creamy vanilla rice pudding baked in a yeasted crust
In the province of Liège, and above all in the town of Verviers, no village fair (ducasse) or family celebration happens without tarte au riz, called rijsttaart in Flanders. A thin, soft yeast-dough crust holds a thick layer of rice cooked slowly in milk with vanilla and sugar, enriched with egg yolks and baked until the top is speckled brown. People buy whole tarts from the bakery for a birthday and eat them cold with coffee. Chef's tip: cook the rice until a spoon drawn through it leaves a clear path that closes slowly; a runny filling never sets in the oven, and the crust turns soggy.
- Total time
- 110 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the yeast crust
For the rice filling
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: For the crust, mix 9 oz plain flour, ⅛ oz fast-action dried yeast, ⅞ oz caster sugar and ¼ tsp salt. Add ½ cup whole milk, 1 egg and 1 ¾ oz butter and knead for 8 minutes into a soft, smooth dough. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour.
60 minStep 2: Meanwhile bring 5 cups whole milk, 1 vanilla pod and 1 pinch salt to the boil in a heavy pan. Add 7 oz short-grain pudding rice, lower the heat to the gentlest simmer and cook for 40–45 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom, until the rice is soft and the mixture is thick and creamy.
45 minStep 3: Take off the heat, remove the vanilla pod, and stir in 4 ½ oz caster sugar. Cool for 15 minutes, then beat in 3 egg yolks one at a time.
15 minStep 4: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Roll out the dough to about 3 mm and line a buttered 28 cm tart tin, letting the edge come up the sides. Prick the base with a fork.
Step 5: Spread the rice filling evenly in the crust, about 2 cm deep.
Step 6: Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the crust is golden and the top of the rice is set with brown freckles. A slight wobble in the very centre is fine; it firms as it cools.
28 minStep 7: Cool completely in the tin, then chill. Tarte au riz is eaten cold or at room temperature, in wedges.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 54 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tarte au riz take?
- About 110 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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