Creamy Portuguese Rice Pudding (Arroz Doce)

Jun 17 2022

Creamy Portuguese rice pudding isn't your average rice pudding. Learn how to make this fun and delicious sweet rice dessert.

Ingredients

2 ¼
cups water
½
teaspoon salt
Peel of 1 lemon (cut into long strips, avoid as much of the white pith as possible)
1
cup rice (short-grain, arborio is a good choice)
2
cups milk (hot, you can substitute some of this with cream, if you like, for a richer consistency and flavor)
Garnish: ground cinnamon
Garnish: paper-thin slices of lemon

Step 1
Place the water, salt, and lemon peel into a medium pan and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and allow the water to simmer with a lid on for about 15 minutes.
Step 2
Remove the lemon peel from the water with a slotted spoon and discard.
Step 3
Add the rice to the water and bring it back up to a boil. Then reduce it to a simmer and allow the rice to absorb all of the water (about 10 minutes).
Step 4
Now slowly add the hot milk, a bit at a time, to the rice mixture. After each addition (of about 1/2 cup), allow the liquid to absorb before adding the next batch of milk. Stir frequently and keep the heat low, so that the rice does not burn at the bottom of the pan. This should take about 25 to 30 minutes.
Step 5
Pour the rice into a serving dish. Sprinkle the top with the cinnamon and the lemon slice if you like.
Step 6
Chill the rice and then serve.