This recipe was one of the first things I learned to cook alongside my mother. She, as I am, wasn't a big dessert maker or eater. This dish, however, was always present at our Christmas table and most other occasions to be fair. It is a Portuguese classic and one that mom made well. Sweet, smooth and delicious with the faintest hint of lemon and topped with cinnamon. I love how it is sweet and rich, yet not overwhelming. You can use pretty stencils to make lovely designs on the rice before serving. We serve this cold/room temperature. Funny...as a child I couldn'y wait for this to cool, so I would take spoonfuls of it when my mom wasn't looking. LOL...she would always say that hot rice pudding was "bad for you", I suppose the stomach ache she promised was only to keep me away, LOL. Take it out of the fridge 2-3 hours before you plan to serve it.
Rice Pudding ❦ Arroz Doce
6-8 servings depending on your serving vessel size
I used stemless Martini glasses
1 cup, Rice, short grained
2 cups water to cook rice
1 Pinch of salt to cook rice
2 cups Milk, whole/ full fat
2 long strips of lemon peel, without white pith
2 tsp. Pure vanilla extract, I like Nielsen- Massey, or seeds scraped from 1 whole vanilla pod
1 tbsp. Butter, unsalted
1 Cinnamon whole stick
4 Egg yolks, beaten
Ground cinnamon to serve
In a large sauce pan cook rice with 2 cups of water and pinch of salt. Cook according to package directions. About 14 minutes
In another saucepan, heat milk, butter, cinnamonstick, vanilla and lemon peels. Scald the milk on low heat. Keep warm. Discard cinnamon stick and lemon peels.
When rice is cooked and all the water has evaporated, add ladle fulls of the hot milk to rice. Take one ladle of the hot milk and add to the egg yolks while stirring rapidly with a whisk in other hand. This will temper the eggs so you can add them to hot rice without curdling.
Add rest of milk to rice along with the tempered yolks. Stir and simmer gently on low heat stirring frequently, until bubbly and thickened, about 20 minutes. Do not let the mixture boil and stir often.
