Grilled peppered pineapple with coconut rice

Serves 4

(Jason Lowe)

Pineapple lends itself to grilling and serving with piquant flavours such as pepper or chilli. I've served this as a dessert with coconut rice, a perfect match for the sweetness of the grilled pineapple.

1 small pineapple, peeled, quartered, core removed and cut into 2cm chunks
1tbsp cracked black peppers
4 bamboo skewers
60g pudding rice
800ml-1ltr milk
80g caster sugar
1 x 400ml can coconut milk

First make the rice. Put the rice, two-thirds of the milk and the sugar in a thick-bottomed saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer gently (preferably on a simmer plate) for about 20-25 minutes.

Halfway through, add the rest of the milk, stirring every so often and adding more milk if the rice is getting dry, until the grains are tender. Add half of the coconut milk and continue simmering for a few minutes, then remove from the heat.

Add the rest of the coconut milk and stir every so often until the rice is cool. The rice should be a fairly creamy consistency; if not, you can adjust it with a little more milk.

Meanwhile, preheat a griddle pan or barbecue. Thread the pineapple pieces onto the bamboo skewers and season with the black pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, turning the pineapple as it's cooking so it gets nicely caramelised. To serve, spoon the rice on to serving plates and arrange the pineapple on top.