Jer: Rice Pudding

Argentines like their rice pudding with alot of milk. So much that I wondered if this recipe that I had found on Epicurious.com came from South America because it sure did have a high milk to rice ratio. In Argentina, they even forsake the "pudding" and call it "rice with milk"(or arroz con leche).

I really liked how the egg thickened and flavored the pudding (and like Elaine, I used a tad less sugar than the recipe called for). I asked most people I know in Buenos Aires if they ate a lot of arroz con leche. The response was pretty consistent -- it is the dessert of their childhoods. Our neighbors, in particular, remember having it pretty regularly after school as their grandmothers would often make it in large batches. Like our rice pudding, rice with milk is very much a comfort food. Not surprising, in a land where cows are so plentiful and all of the foods that come from these glorious bovine are so delicious.

The most common cookie in Argentina as well as in Uruguay (which is also a very big dairy country) also has a milk theme. Alfajores are made by taking two pieces of shortbread and sandwiching it with some dulce de leche and then rolling the edges in some finely ground coconut. They are truly sublime, especially when eaten fresh and when made with really good dulce.

We're headed back to South America tomorrow. After a few days seeing friends in Buenos Aires we'll head further south and spend some time in the Argentine and Chilean Lake Districts where the specialty foods of the region include Patagonian lamb and chocolate. I can hardly wait.