Portuguese Rice Pudding
Arroz-doce is Portugal's quintessential celebration dessert, served at weddings, baptisms and Christmas Eve suppers. Carolino rice is cooked slowly in milk scented with lemon peel and a cinnamon stick, then enriched at the end with egg yolks for a velvety, golden cream. It is served at room temperature, decorated with a lattice or stripes of ground cinnamon.
- Yields
- 6 to 8 servings
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 55 min
Ingredients
- 250 g Carolino (short-grain) rice
- 500 ml Water
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 lemon Lemon peel (yellow part only)
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 30 g Butter
- 1 litre Whole milk, warmed
- 200 g White sugar
- 4 Egg yolks
- as needed Ground cinnamon (to decorate)
Method
In a heavy-bottomed pan, bring the water to a boil with the salt, lemon peel, cinnamon stick and butter. Once it boils, add the rice, stir and let it return to a boil.
Lower to a gentle heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 to 12 minutes, until nearly all the water is absorbed and the rice is al dente.
Begin adding the warm milk a little at a time, about one ladleful at a time, stirring constantly and waiting until it is absorbed before adding the next. Keep the heat low so it does not catch on the bottom.
Continue until all the milk is incorporated and the rice is soft and creamy, about 30 to 35 minutes in total. The cream should stay loose, as it firms up on cooling.
Remove the lemon peel and cinnamon stick. Turn off the heat, add the sugar and stir well until fully dissolved. (Sugar goes in only at the end: cooked with the rice, it would toughen the grains.)
In a bowl, lightly beat the yolks. Temper them by drizzling in two to three spoonfuls of the hot rice while stirring constantly, so they do not curdle.
Pour the yolk mixture back into the pan, stirring vigorously. Return it to the lowest heat just long enough to thicken, about 2 minutes, without letting it boil, or the yolks will curdle.
Spoon the rice pudding into bowls or a wide platter and smooth the surface. Let it cool to room temperature.
Decorate with ground cinnamon, drawing a lattice of diamonds or stripes. The traditional method is to dust the cinnamon over crossed strips of paper, then lift them away to reveal the pattern.