Portuguese White Rice Pudding

Rice pudding is a classic comfort desert, and the Portuguese as always been on that forefront ;D White Rice Pudding is just plain rice pudding without eggs, there are a lot of different rice pudding recipes in Portugal but the main difference is if its with eggs or without, if its without its called a “Arroz Doce Branco” or translated to White Sweet Rice, the most famous white rice pudding hails from the region of Alcochete in Setúbal.

Rice Pudding is a great desert, its easy to make, very creamy and fulfilling, also its one of those sweets that you can easily adjust the sweetness, perfect for a Christmas table full of very sweet dishes, the white rice variation is even less rich so if you like rice puddings that are more plain and light this is the version for you! ;D

Portuguese White Rice Pudding Recipe

Servings: 6
Time: 45mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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White rice pudding is an easy to make, delicious and creamy desert with a hint of cinnamon, make sure to give this recipe a try and enjoy.

Ingredients

Milk – 300 ml
Cinnamon – 1 Stick
Lemon – 1 Peel
Short Grain Rice – 150 gr (Traditionally the Carolino type)
Water – 340 ml
Sugar – 225 gr
Butter – 20 gr
Salt – A Pinch
Cinnamon – To Sprinkle

Directions

Start by washing the rice and then setting it aside to drain for a few minutes, this will take some of the starch and impurities of the rice.
On a large saucepan or cooking pot, over high heat add the water, salt butter, lemon peel and cinnamon stick.
When the water starts boiling, lower the heat to medium and add the rice, stir while it cooks until the water has mostly evaporated, please note that at this point the rice should be cooked and mostly edible.
Heat the milk on the microwave or separate pan, you want it very hot, but not boiling.
Add half of the milk and half of the sugar to the cooking pot with the rice, turn down the heat to about medium low, stir constantly (like its a risotto ;D).
Add the remaining milk and sugar, continuing to stir, you will now have to cook it down until the mixture starts to thicken, you will notice the difference, depending on the type of rice, it could take from 5 to about 20 minutes, you have to have some patience.
When it start to thicken, let it cook 1 or 2 minutes more and then remove from the heat and pour into a serving dish or individual bowls, let it cool completely.

Finally take it to the fridge for at least a couple of hours, its even better if its until the next day, when its time to serve sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon, enjoy!

Notes: Washing the rice will make the rice pudding less creamy, but that’s the traditional recipe, if you want to make it extra creamy, then you don’t need to wash the rice. The traditional recipe also uses butter or margarine (vegetable shortening), but i prefer the taste and creaminess of butter, so that choice was a no-brainer. Its also very important to use full fat whole milk, since the added milk fat will help and combine with the butter and starch of the rice to create the creaminess, this is especially important because you are not using eggs. Also like i said above you can and should adjust the sugar to your taste, this isn’t a very sweet rice pudding but after you make it once with my recommendation, then decide if you should add or cut a bit of the sugar for next time, especially if you are serving this with other sweets like on Christmas or Easter. Although not the original recipe you can make a version of this recipe with already cooked but unflavored plain rice, just add the butter, lemon peel and stick of cinnamon to the milk, let it heat up and then add the rice with the sugar and let it cook down until the mixture thickens.

This recipe for Portuguese White Rice Pudding was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Arroz Doce Branco de Alcochete foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.