This Portuguese rice pudding is made with whole milk, Infused with citrus and cinnamon and enriched with egg yolks. It’s creamy and delicious.
In a medium saucepan bring 1¼ cups of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Stir in ¾ of a cup of short grain rice – Portuguese Carolino, Italian arborio, Spanish bomba, or Japanese sushi rice all work. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, stirring from time to time, until the water is absorbed. Meanwhile, in another saucepan warm 3½ cups of whole milk with 4 – 6 tablespoons of caster sugar, a few strips of lemon and orange zest and 1 broken cinnamon stick. After 10 minutes remove from the heat and let the citrus and cinnamon continue to infuse. If you prefer a subtler flavour, remove the citrus and cinnamon now. When the rice has absorbed all the water, ladle some of the strained warm milk mixture into the rice and stir well. Continue cooking over low heat until the milk is absorbed. Repeat until all of the milk has been used and the rice is thick and creamy. In a small bowl, lightly beat 3 egg yolks with 3 tablespoons of cream or milk. Add a large spoonful of the hot rice to the egg yolk mixture and stir to combine. Now slowly stir the egg and rice mix into the remaining rice. Continue to cook the rice for a few more minutes until it thickens then remove from the heat. The pudding will thicken further as it cools so if you prefer a thinner consistency you can add a little more milk. Serve the pudding warm or cold, garnished with ground cinnamon and toasted chopped pistachios.
*from this recipe by David Leite
michelle picker cooks 