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4.9 from 126 votes

Aletria

Aletria is a traditional Portuguese dessert often served at Christmas Eve dinner. Despite being remarkably simple, many Portuguese people only make it during the holiday.

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
20 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Portuguese

Ingredients

  • 12 oz vermicelli noodles (aletria)
  • 3 ½ cups milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tick cinnamon
  • 1 lemon rind
  • 3 egg yolks beaten
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder to decorate

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Pour 3 ½ cups of milk in a saucepan and heat it up on medium high heat.
  2. Once the milk starts boiling stir in the butter, sugar and lemon rind and lower the heat to medium. Take out 1/2 cup of milk to combine with the egg yolks later.
  3. Add in the vermicelli and stir as it simmers for about 5 - 7 minutes until it cooks completely and absorbs some of the milk.
  4. Beat the egg yolks and add the reserved warm milk, while stirring vigorously to combine without "cooking" the yolks.
  5. Incorporate the egg mixture into the saucepan and cook for another couple of minutes while stirring continuously. You should see the milk thicken to a nice, smooth consistency.
  6. Remove the lemon rind and cinnamon stick from the pan and pour the creamy pasta in a serving dish and allow to cool.
  7. Now you can decorate the top with cinnamon powder. You can feel free to get creative here, forming various patterns, like the traditional criss-crosses or writing whatever you wish!
Serve and enjoy!

Notes

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