Welcome to week 3 of my Summer of Sweden series! In the last week I have had Toast Skagen almost every day, and I think I finally discovered the best Toast Skagen in Östergötland (East Gothland) in a little restaurant in Soderköping (of course my Toast Skagen has not been included otherwise it would be the best!). This week, I will be exploring desserts and what better dessert to write about than Swedish rice pudding (Risgrynsgröt). This dish is commonly eaten on Christmas Eve in Sweden, A whole almond is stirred into the rice pudding before serving and it is believed that the person who gets the almond will get married in the coming year.
Swedish rice pudding (Risgrynsgröt)
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
Ingredients (serves 4)
½ cup white or brown rice
1 cup water
4 cups milk
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Ingredients – Topping
4 strawberries, sliced
½ cup blueberries
Method
Place a medium saucepan over high heat and place the rice and water, then cover and boil until all the water is absorbed (about 12-15 minutes)
Reduce the heat to medium, then add the milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract
Simmer uncovered until the milk has reduced by about half and the rice is very soft (about 30 minutes), mixture will also start to thicken
Remove from heat and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving
Serving suggestions: Serve with fresh berries and a little bit of chilled milk
Tips: I have made this recipe with brown rice and it tasted just as delicious as white rice version, the main difference is the brown rice version will not thicken as much as it is less starchy
