Baked Rice with Apples and Cinnamon Recipe
Baked rice with apples and cinnamon is a classic Polish dessert and at the same time a light sweet main course or supper. It often appears in school canteens and homes when there is cooked rice to use up. It smells like apple pie, but instead of pastry you get soft, vanilla-scented rice.
This baked rice is pure comfort food: warm, fragrant with cinnamon and vanilla, and perfect for using up leftover rice. It sits somewhere between dessert and main course, which makes it a nostalgic favorite for many people who grew up with Polish school lunches.
Chef's tips
Cook the rice until it is very soft and creamy – slightly overcooked rice works better here than al dente. If your apples are very tart, taste the filling and add a little extra sugar or raisins to balance the flavor.
How to serve
Serve in generous squares, topped with a spoonful of thick cream or yogurt. For a more indulgent version, pour over warm vanilla sauce or melted butter with a little cinnamon.
Ingredients
- rice - 200 g
- milk - 500 ml
- water - 200 ml
- sugar for the rice - 3 tablespoons
- vanillin sugar - 1 teaspoon
- apples medium, preferably tart - 4 piece
- ground cinnamon - 1.5 teaspoons
- butter - 40 g
- breadcrumbs for dusting the dish - 2 tablespoons
- raisins optional - 40 g
- salt pinch - 1 pinch
Preparation
- Rinse the rice in a sieve under running water. Pour the milk and water into a pot, add the sugar, vanillin sugar and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring from time to time.
- Pour the rice into the boiling milk and water, stir. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and cook for 15–18 minutes until the rice is soft and has absorbed most of the liquid. Stir occasionally so it doesn’t burn. The mixture should be thick and creamy.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Grease an ovenproof dish lightly with butter and dust with breadcrumbs so the bake doesn’t stick.
- Peel the apples, remove the cores and grate them on a coarse grater. Add the cinnamon and, if using, the raisins. Mix.
- Add half of the butter (about 20 g) to the warm rice and stir until it melts.
- Spread half of the rice over the bottom of the ovenproof dish and smooth it with a spoon.
- Spread the grated apples with cinnamon evenly over the layer of rice.
- Cover the apples with the remaining rice and smooth the surface.
- Dot the top with small pieces of the remaining butter.
- Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, until the top is lightly golden.
- Serve warm, straight from the oven or after it has cooled slightly.
Storage
Zapiekany ryż przechowuj w lodówce w naczyniu przykrytym folią. Przy odgrzewaniu w piekarniku lub mikrofalówce możesz dodać łyżkę mleka, aby był bardziej wilgotny. Można go też zamrozić w porcjach na około 2 miesiące.
