A silky Hungarian farina pudding, grízes puding, topped with warm black-pepper-spiced sour cherries.
Grízes puding, a farina (cream of wheat) pudding cooked slowly in milk until thick and custard-like, is a genuine staple of Hungarian home desserts, often served warm with fruit compote spooned over the top. It's the dish Hungarian grandmothers make on a weeknight when there's little in the pantry but milk, farina and sugar, yet it tastes far richer than its short ingredient list suggests. The technique is about patience with a whisk: farina is streamed into scalded milk while whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then cooked over low heat until it thickens into a spoonable, custardy pudding, usually finished with a beaten egg yolk stirred in off the heat for extra silkiness. Sour cherries, a fruit deeply tied to Hungarian desserts (meggy), are simmered here with a small amount of sugar and a surprising but traditional pinch of black pepper, which sharpens the tartness of the cherries rather than making the topping taste peppery.
Serves 4
Bring the milk to a gentle simmer in a heavy saucepan with the split vanilla bean and salt. Do not let it boil hard.
Remove the vanilla pod, whisking constantly, stream in the farina in a thin steady flow to avoid lumps. Cook over low heat, stirring, 6-8 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar. Off the heat, whisk a spoonful of the hot pudding into the egg yolk to temper it, then stir the yolk mixture back into the pot until glossy.
In a separate small pan, simmer the sour cherries with the remaining sugar and black pepper over medium heat 5-6 minutes until the cherries soften and release juice.
Whisk the cornstarch into the water, stir into the cherries, and simmer 1-2 minutes until glossy and slightly thickened.
Divide the pudding into bowls, spoon the warm cherry compote over the top, and serve immediately while both are warm.
Stream the farina in slowly while whisking constantly — dumping it in all at once is the number one cause of lumpy pudding.
Temper the egg yolk with a spoonful of hot pudding first, or it will scramble instead of thickening the pudding smoothly.
The black pepper in the cherries should be barely perceptible as spice — its job is to sharpen the tartness, not add heat.
Chocolate version: stir 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder into the milk before adding the farina.
Fresh fruit swap: use raspberries or plums in place of sour cherries when they're in season.
Dairy-free: use oat milk and skip the egg yolk for a simpler, vegan-friendly version.
Refrigerate pudding and cherry compote separately up to 3 days. The pudding thickens as it cools; loosen with a splash of warm milk when reheating gently on the stovetop.
Grízes puding is a well-documented staple of Hungarian home cooking, commonly served as a light dessert or even breakfast, and sour cherries (meggy) are one of the most iconic fruits in Hungarian baking, appearing in strudels, dumplings and compotes across the country.
A small pinch of black pepper is a genuine Hungarian technique for brightening tart fruit compotes — it sharpens the sourness of the cherries rather than making the dish taste spicy.
This almost always means the farina was added too quickly or without constant whisking. Stream it in slowly in a thin line while whisking the whole time.
Yes — drain them well and reduce the added sugar slightly, since canned cherries are often packed in a light syrup that's already sweetened.
Per serving (260g / 9.2 oz) · 4 servings total
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