Argentine-Style Rice Pudding
Rice pudding with the texture that sits exactly between too runny and too heavy — the childhood dessert, done properly. What is different about the Argentine method is the order: the rice is cooked in water first, and only then goes into the milk.
There is a practical reason for it — rice cooked in milk catches on the bottom of the pan easily and needs constant stirring. And a little cornstarch (cornflour) at the end is what gives it body, without having to cook it any longer.
Any short-grain rice works here: pudding rice, or Arborio. It gives up its starch the same way Argentine Doble Carolina does. Cinnamon over the top, and it never fails.
Ingredients
- 100 g short-grain pudding rice (Arborio works too)
- 500 ml water
- 625 ml whole milk (split into 500 ml and 125 ml)
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp cornstarch (cornflour)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon, to dust
Method
- 1
Cook the rice with the water in a pot over high heat. Once it boils, turn the heat down to its lowest setting and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring often, until the water has almost completely been absorbed.
- 2
Add the 500 ml of milk and the sugar, and turn the heat back up to recover the temperature.
- 3
Meanwhile, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 125 ml of cold milk, making sure there are no lumps.
- 4
As soon as the mixture in the pot comes back to the boil, stir in the slaked cornstarch and the vanilla extract. Stir hard until it thickens and take it off the heat immediately — cooked any further it turns gluey.
- 5
Divide between individual dishes and dust with ground cinnamon. Let it cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 1 hour before serving.