Provincetown Portuguese Cookbook

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Rolled Cookies | Rocks | Sweet Potato Pastries | Egg Cookies | Sighs | Mariana's Tea Biscuits | Sherried Cookies | Egg Cake | Russian Tea Cakes | Andrew's Fudgies | Molasses Cookies | Brigadiers | Torta de Viana | Honey Bread | Crème Caramel à la Portugaise | Port Flan | Maria's Portuguese Sweet Rice Pudding | Del's Sweet Rice Pudding | Brazilian Fresh Corn Pudding | Almond Tart | Joyce's Choice Cheesecake | Milk Sweet

Arroz Doce

Delphine Caliro Fiset

Another excellent sweet rice pudding, also made like a risotto, was submitted by Del Fiset's daughter-in-law Judy Minto Fiset. Judy says that her mother-in-law rarely cooked. When she did, however, she cooked "lahge" and gave the products of her labors to all her "dahlin's." This recipe has been modified to serve six to eight.

41/2 cups water

6 strips each of lemon and orange rinds, 6 inches long apiece

2 cinnamon sticks, two to three inches long

2 cups uncooked, short-grained rice

5 to 51/2 cups scalding milk

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. unsalted butter

4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Optional: 1 tsp. vanilla

Place the water and lemon and orange rinds in a large, heavy saucepan. Set over moderate heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to very low, cover and steep the citrus rinds for 10 minutes. Bring the water to a rolling boil, stir in the rice and simmer gently, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

Add one cup of the hot milk and the cinnamon sticks. Stir gently over very low heat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until all the milk is absorbed - about 10 minutes. Continue to add the milk, one cup at a time. The milk should be added by the cup with each cup being absorbed before a new cup is added. This recipe takes time but is worth the effort.

When the final 1/2 to one cup of milk is added, mix in the sugar, butter, yolks. Reduce the heat to its very lowest setting and cook, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. The pudding will be very creamy and the eggs must be well-cooked.

Spoon the pudding into a buttered, 3 quart casserole or individual serving dishes. Cool and chill several hours before serving. Remove the rinds and cinnamon before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.