Rice Pudding
'Teurgoule'

Teurgoule, also known as Terrinée, Teurt-goule, Torgoule and Bourre-guele, is a baked rice pudding from Normandy consisting of rice cooked in full cream (preferably raw) milk, sugar and flavoured with cinnamon and perhaps a dash of vanilla. Its secret: to cook in an earthenware terrine for a long, long time and very, very slowly until the top caramelizes.

Photo: Raphael Labbé 'Teurgoule taken in Caen (France) market'

History
This traditional rice pudding dish originated when Norman pirates returned home from sea with cinnamon, pillaged from Spanish vessels. The strange new taste of the unsweetened cinnamon made the Normans pull a funny face, hence the name ‘teurgoule’ which in Norman means twist face.

The peasants would mix the cinnamon in a pot with rice, raw milk and perhaps honey for sweetening and then allow the pot cook in the hearth all through the night, or placed in the oven as it cooled after baking bread.

Traditionally popular at villiage festivals, Teurgoule has survived time and is still a favorite family dish in Normandy today. There is no definitive recipe and there are hundreds available for this irresistible dish.

RECIPE 1

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 9 hours

Ingredients

• 2 litres raw full-cream milk
• 150g round rice
• 200g white powdered sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons of powdered cinnamon

Method

Step 1 Place rice in bottom of an earthenware dish of 2 litres capacity.

Step 2 Add powdered sugar, salt and cinnamon and whip together.

Step 3 Pour milk gently so that the rice remains right at the bottom of the dish.

Step 4 Place in a very hot oven (260°C) then lower to 110° after one hour.

Step 5 After 2 hours’ cooking, lower the temperature further to 50° and leave to cook for a further 5-6 hours.



RECIPE 2
A shorter cooking time and far less cinnamon.

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 5 hours

Ingredients

• 2 litres full-cream milk
• 175g round grain rice
• 200g semolina sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of powdered cinnamon

Procedure

1. Preheat your oven at 150°C (thermostat 2).

2. Mix the sugar, milk, rice, salt and cinnamon in a terrine bowl.

3. Put the mix in the oven for 5 hours while making sure no one opens the oven door.

4. The rice must absorb approximately three-quarters of the milk and must be covered by a brown skin.

5. Let the pudding cool down and serve at room temperature.