Rice pudding with saffron and strawberries

(recipe for 4 people)

Ingredients
-240g of shortcrust pastry
-200g of custard
-1/2 box of organic Zaffy saffron pistils
-100g of Vialone Nano Stagioni d’Italia rice
-500ml of whole milk
-30g of sugar
– orange and lemon zest (untreated)
– a level spoonful of flour
-4g of bicarbonate

For the strawberries
-1 box of strawberries
– a spoonful of Zaffy honey
-1/2 orange

For the pastry
-150g of butter
-100g of powdered sugar
-250g of flour 00 (preferably weak)
-3 yolks
-lemon peel
-a pinch of salt

For the custard
-250g of whole milk
-50g of sugar
-3 yolks
-30g of corn starch (cornstarch)

PREPARATION

For the pastry
-Cut the cold butter into cubes and mix it with the flour until you get a sandblasted effect (you can also use a cutter), add the egg yolks one at a time and work quickly, finally add sugar, grated citrus peel and salt and knead it strictly necessary to obtain a homogeneous product. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour before using.

For the custard
-Beat together the egg yolks with the sugar, add the starch and mix. Bring the milk to the boil with a pinch of salt. Add the milk to the egg yolk mixture, mix well, then put it back in the pot and bring to the boil, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. Remove from the pan immediately and cover with cling film, allow to cool first at room temperature then in the refrigerator. Before use, work vigorously.

For the rice pudding
-Bring the milk to a boil with the citrus peel inside. Remove the citrus fruits and add the saffron, put the rice and sugar in the pot and cook for about 15 minutes, taking care to turn it to avoid sticking to the bottom. After cooking, remove from the pan and let it cool in a large bowl, when it reaches room temperature, mix the right amount of custard with rice then sift together flour and baking soda and add it to the previous mixture.
Line the baking cups with the shortcrust pastry spread to 3-4 mm thick and leave them to stop in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Fill the cups with the rice and saffron mixture and bake in the oven at 160 ° for 25-30 minutes. Wait until they are warm before unmolding.

For the strawberries
Work the honey with the juice of half an orange, add the strawberries cut into quarters and marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Serve the pudding warm accompanied by the marinated strawberries, garnish with lemon balm leaves.