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Portuguese Rice Pudding ~ Arroz Doce

This Portuguese dessert, made by cooking rice with whole milk infused with citrus and cinnamon and making it like custard with the addition of egg yolks, is creamy and comforting.

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
1 hr
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Calories: 412 kcal
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Portuguese

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups water plus more if needed
  • sea salt
  • 3/4 cups short-grain white rice preferably Portuguese Carolino, Italian arborio, Spanish bomba, or Japanese sushi rice
  • Flaky sea salt
  • A couple of strips each of lemon and orange zest plus more grated zest for garnish (optional)
  • 1 cinnamon stick broken in half
  • 3 1/2 cups whole milk plus more as needed
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons superfine sugar (or just blitz granulated sugar in a blender until finely ground but not powdery)
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons light cream or more whole milk (optional)
  • 1 1/2 ounces pistachios shelled
  • ground cinnamon for garnish

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the water and a pinch of salt to a boil.
  2. Stir in the rice, reduce the heat to low, and gently simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the water is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. The rice won’t yet be tender. That’s okay. If the rice starts starts to stick, add a little more water.
  3. While the rice is cooking, in a separate saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the milk, sugar, strips of citrus zest, and cinnamon stick for 10 minutes. (If you’d like, you can tie the zest and cinnamon stick in a square of cheesecloth or tuck them in a teaball for ease of removal later.) Remove the pan from the heat. If you’d like the citrus and spice flavors to be prominent, let them remain in the mixture as it sits, covered and off the heat, for several minutes to infuse the milk. Otherwise immediately strain the milk and discard the solids.
  4. Gradually ladle some of the strained warm milk mixture into the pan of rice, stirring well after each addition as you would when making risotto. Continue to cook the rice mixture over low heat, gradually adding a ladleful of milk and stirring until it’s absorbed before adding more milk, until thick and creamy, 20 to 35 minutes.
  5. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks and cream, if using. Pour a ladle full of the hot rice mixture into the yolks and stir until combined. Then slowly stir the yolk-rice mixture into the pudding. Continue to cook the rice pudding, stirring frequently so the rice doesn’t scorch, until it thickens, which will happen in just a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat.
  6. The rice pudding will thicken even more as it cools and will especially thicken if you refrigerate it overnight. If a thinner consistency is desired, add a little more milk.
  7. Serve the rice pudding warm or you can let it cool, cover, and refrigerate it overnight, keeping in mind it will thicken even more in the fridge. Serve it topped with pistachios and, if desired, a sprinkle each of ground cinnamon and grazed zest.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1portion Calories 412kcal (21%) Carbohydrates 55g (18%) Protein 14g (28%) Fat 16g (25%) Saturated Fat 6g (30%) Monounsaturated Fat 6g Cholesterol 165mg (55%) Sodium 97mg (4%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 24g (48%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4to 6 servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 412

% Daily Value*

Serving 1portion
Calories 412kcal 21%
Carbohydrates 55g 18%
Protein 14g 28%
Fat 16g 25%
Saturated Fat 6g 30%
Monounsaturated Fat 6g 30%
Cholesterol 165mg 55%
Sodium 97mg 4%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 24g 48%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.