Semolina Pudding Recipe

This is one of those ultra comforting childhood desserts that every now and then will trump the most elaborate of cakes.  This semolina pudding recipe will allow you to recreate fund memories of your youth from the comfort of your own kitchen. 

I’ve felt an urgent need for comfort food this weekend. It’s been a strange old week. I had a car crash on Thursday, twisted my ankle on Friday, and frankly I just really missm my mammy. Two and half years since she’s gone, you think it would get easier. But grief is a funny old thing and knocks your socks off when you least expect it. Anyways, I wanted to eat something she used to make me. After all, food is memory. And all I can do to feel better is to try and remember.  My mam used to cook a lot, and about once a week she would treat us to a home made cake, or a dessert of some kind. I’ve tried to recreate her semolina pudding recipe. As the milk in Ireland is much richer than in France, I find the consistency is much creamier her. It’s a beautiful pudding. I hope you love it as much as I do. 

I used white rum to soak the raisins in, and that’s because it was the most common spirit in my house when I grew up. My grand dad would always bring back a few cases when came back from Martinique and as such it’s the alcohol we used for cooking. I love it still to this day and find that a good white rum is a thing of beauty. You can of course use brandy or whiskey instead of the rum in this semolina pudding recipe. I’m sure tequila wouldn’t be bad either. 

I like my semolina pudding straight from the fridge a couple of hours after it’s been made. The colder it is the better for my taste.  But I know a lot of people like it warm for a more comforting feeling. You could even take it a step further and bake it in the oven so that it gets a beautiful caramel skin just like my friend Caitriona Redmond does. 

Ingredients

• 200 g of semolina
• 500 ml of whole milk 
• 30 to 50 g of sugar depending on your taste
• 2 vanilla pods or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 handful of raisins
• 1 shot of good spirit of your choice. 

Method

• Mix the semolina with the sugar and add the milk and vanilla extract or the vanilla seeds from the pods. 
• Bring it to a gentle boil and reduce the heat until it simmer gently. 
• Stir continuously to avoid lumps and a sticky bottom.
• Once the mixture is nice and thick you can add the raisins and rum to it. This will take approximately 20 min on gentle heat.
• Give it a good mix and pour it in a serving dish.
• You can eat it while it’s warm or you could stick in the fridge for about 2 hours and enjoy it cold like I will.