Spiced Rice Pudding

It’s rice pudding, Jim, but not as we know it. This is a version of the Spanish arroz con leche and it’s delicately spiced with lemon zest and cinnamon. You can eat it warm or lightly chilled.

I like to serve it cold in small, vintage, glass punch or custard cups, with a crisp spicy biscuit on the side. It makes a gentle, fragrant end to a meal. It isn’t too overwhelming if you’ve over-indulged on the main and it’s something you can prepare in advance. Of course, if you prefer, you can ladle it into bigger bowls and tuck straight in.

Unlike British rice puddings, this is made more like a risotto, by the gradual absorption of the milk. You can add other spices, such as cardamom or star anise and substitute orange peel or zest for the lemon if you’d like to change up the flavours. Traditionally, bomba rice is used (the type you make paella with) but any short grain rice will work.

Spiced Rice Pudding

Image of spiced rice pudding

Ingredients:

200g bomba rice

Around 1 litre of whole milk

1 cinnamon stick

The thinly pared skin of 1/2 an unwaxed lemon (minus any pith)

70g-100g golden caster sugar

Method:

Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the lemon peel and cinnamon stick and 70g of the sugar and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has melted. Set aside at the back of the stove to infuse for a few minutes while you rinse the rice in cold water.

Put the drained rice in a second saucepan and add enough of the warm milk to barely cover it. On a low to medium heat, stir continuously until the liquid is fully absorbed.

Continue to add the milk, splash by splash, stirring each time until it is absorbed before adding any more. After about 20 minutes the rice should be tender and the pudding creamy and fragrant but keep testing until the grains of rice no longer feel chalky to the bite.

Check the seasoning, adding the remaining sugar if you prefer, and zesting in the rest of the lemon peel if you’d like it more citrussy. Bear it mind if you’re serving it cold, it will taste less sweet once it has chilled.

Eat straight away or spoon into small glasses or pots and cool quickly (an ice bath will do the trick) before covering loosely and refrigerating. Optionally, you can sprinkle a small pinch of ground cinnamon over the top just before serving.

10 thoughts on “Spiced Rice Pudding

  1. Tho’ not one for desserts I really like the look and sound of this and curiosity as to its taste will make me try soonest ! Have the rice, love risottos and cardamom methinks will come into play also ! Eating mostly Asian meals there has always been a lot of rice in the house – I must admit I used cooked rice quite carelessly for decades before I realized how dangerous it could be ! Grateful I and mine had never been caught . . . ! best . . .

  2. This sounds wonderful. I’ve only made rice pudding once, years ago, and I remember loving the recipe because it wasn’t sweet. I’ll have to try yours!

  3. I love arroz .com leche. I add small pieces of ginger, not a tradition receipt but it was Mom’s idea. So good! I’m definitely trying your version because rice puff evokes such happy feelings…thank you!

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