Portuguese Style Rice Pudding (Arroz Doce)

It was my grandfather’s birthday last weekend so the whole family got together at my
grandparents house on Sunday afternoon for a big meal. When I say big, I mean we had trouble fitting all of the dishes on the table. But that’s my grandma when it comes to food, ‘go big, or go home.’ Everything she made was really good, as usual, but she is known for a few dishes and makes them every time the family is together. Arroz Doce, Portuguese style rice pudding is one of them. I thought I would try my hand at making some myself and bring it to lunch for an informal taste test. So after everyone was done their main course, dessert plates were brought out and the tasting began. I should mention that this wasn’t a controlled tasting by any means. Everyone knew which version was mine and which dish was my grandma’s, and did I mention that we were in my grandparent’s house? Needless to say that I didn’t stand a chance, but I still received some accolades for my interpretation of arroz doce; better than ‘boos.’ Here’s the recipe I used and below you’ll see some key tips to making your arroz doce a success.

Ingredients:

4 cups of water
1/2 tsp. of salt
2 cups of short grain rice (like the kind for risotto)
4 cups of milk
1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp. butter
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks
zest from one lemon
cinnamon (to decorate)

1. In a large pot, add the water, lemon zest and cinnamon sticks and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Let the lemon and cinnamon infuse the water for about 10 min.

2. Meanwhile, in another pot, add the milk and warm it up so that it’s ’scalded’ not boiled.

3. Remove the cinnamon sticks from the water and bring the liquid to a rolling boil and add the rice and salt. Be sure to mix it a big so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the
pot.

4. Cook the rice for about 15 minutes, or until it looks like most of the water is absorbed,
then add a few ladles of the scalded milk. Stir occasionally to incorporate the milk.

5. Once it looks like the rice has absorbed the milk add another few ladles of milk and
repeat until you’re left with your last few ladles of milk.

6. Before you add the last bit of milk to the rice, add the sugar to the pot.

7. Finally add the last of the milk. The rice should look very creamy and thick.

8. Pour the dessert either into a large serving platter, or you can use individual ramekins.
Decorate with cinnamon either with designs or just sprinkled on top. Let it set at room
temperature or in the fridge.

Important things to remember:

I think there are a few key things you have to remember when making this dish. One, although most recipes I found call for 1 cup of sugar or less, it tastes better if you add closer to 1 1/2 cups. I think this has to do with the fact that one usually serves this dish at room temperature or slightly chilled which tends to make it taste less sweet than when it’s on the stovetop. Two, make sure the rice is cooked all the way through or the milk and sugar won’t penetrate the the rice. Lastly, avoid stirring the pot too much or you’ll end up with a gooey mushy dessert. Low heat and occasional stirring in the key.