Arroz Doce

Portuguese Rice Pudding with Lemon and Cinnamon

Rice is cooked first in water, then fed warm milk a ladle at a time, as you would a risotto, until it is thick and creamy. Egg yolks go in at the end and turn it pale gold. It is spread in a shallow dish and decorated with ground cinnamon, traditionally in patterns.

It is one of the most familiar Portuguese puddings and a fixture of family gatherings, served at room temperature with cinnamon on top.

The recipe read scents the milk with strips of lemon and orange zest and a cinnamon stick, and enriches the rice with yolks at the end.

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 150 g short-grain rice (carolino, arborio or pudding rice)
  • 300 ml water
  • A pinch of fine sea salt
  • 850 ml whole milk
  • 80 g caster sugar
  • 2 strips of lemon peel, no white pith
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • Ground cinnamon, to decorate

Method

  1. Start the rice Bring the water and salt to the boil in a heavy saucepan. Add the rice, lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring now and then, until the water has been absorbed. The rice will still be firm.
  2. Scent the milk Meanwhile, heat the milk with the sugar, lemon peel and cinnamon stick in a second pan until steaming. Keep it warm over the lowest heat for 10 minutes, then lift out the peel and cinnamon.
  3. Feed the rice Add the warm milk to the rice a ladle at a time over a medium-low heat, stirring often and adding more as each ladle is absorbed. This takes 25 to 30 minutes. The rice should be completely soft and the pudding loose and creamy.
  4. Add the yolks Beat the yolks in a bowl. Stir in a ladle of the hot rice to warm them, then stir the mixture back into the pan. Cook over a low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Do not let it boil.
  5. Set and decorate Pour into a shallow dish or individual bowls. It thickens as it cools. When it is at room temperature, decorate with ground cinnamon, pinched between finger and thumb and dropped in lines or a lattice.

Take it off the heat while it still looks a little too loose. It sets firmly as it cools.

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