Tuesday, October 09, 2007

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.

3 Comments:

Blogger Elaine said...

you were able to make your pudding look really pretty. mmmm....dulce de leche. Thanks for telling us about this great little tea snack we can whip up in minutes! And we can roll the sides in all sorts of things from grated chocolate to nuts to festive colored nonpareils. Reminds me of those stroopwafels (waffle cookies sandwiched with caramel), Mike's favorite.

10 October, 2007 16:25  
Blogger Jer said...

Here is the recipe for the alfajores cookies ...

600gr #4 flour (cake flour)
300gr butter
600 gr corn starch
100gr baking powder
400gr sugar
6 eggs
Make dough; roll out; cut into rounds; bake 10 min at 350

Spread dulce de leche in between two cookies and roll edges in fine ground coconut

12 October, 2007 16:42  
Blogger Ashley said...

I am committing to make this recipe! I hope I can still post on this blog it's been so long! I can't wait to get back to cooking with you guys - I've missed cooking and you guys dearly!

15 October, 2007 10:59  

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