Rice pudding with hot cherry sauce

Method

1. Split one of the vanilla pods lengthways, keeping the two halves attached at one end. Bring 300ml water to the boil in a large, heavy-based pan, then add the rice and boil for 2 minutes, while stirring. Add the milk and split vanilla pod, stirring until it returns to a boil. Cover and cook for 25 minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and add the salt. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes, then stir in the sugar and leave until cold or overnight.
2. Remove the vanilla pod, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
3. Roughly chop all the almonds except for one, which must be left whole for the game (see below). Split the second vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife and add them to the rice. Whip the cream in a bowl until it forms soft peaks. Fold one third into the rice to loosen, then fold in the rest. Add the chopped almonds. Taste the pudding: it should be sweet with a flavour of vanilla. Push the whole almond down into the pudding; it should be well hidden.
4. To make the hot cherry sauce, mix the cherries, sugar and split vanilla pod with 500ml water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Mix the cornflour with 3 tbsp cold water in a cup or small bowl. Slowly add it to the cherries until they thicken, stirring constantly, and season to taste with more sugar, if you want. Serve the cold rice pudding with the hot cherry sauce.