Dreamy Rice Porridge with Fruity All Sorts Sauce | Recipe

The Christmas countdown is on! While waiting for the snowy winter wonderland to take the stage outdoors (fingers wishfully crossed), we might just as well cook something white and dreamy in the kitchen to get the winter mood going. Of course, I’m talking about rice porridge as it is a Christmas staple in the Nordic kitchens.

Rice porridge or rice pudding? That is up to you whether you want to enjoy the porridge plain or further elevate it with whipped cream. Ultimately riisipuuro, risengrynsgrøt, risgrynsgröt, risengrød and hrísgrjónagrautur are the same concept: a milk-based rice porridge cooked with short-grain rice and served with extras. Cinnamon and sugar are always a nice everyday option to but occasionally you might want to spice things up. And here’s such a Finnish option for you.

Fruity All sorts Sauce – what is that exactly?

Not licorice I assure you but the sauce is all sorts amazing, please hear me out. Traditionally rice porridge is enjoyed with cinnamon and sugar. An equally loved habit is to relish it with sweet plum sauce. But we Finns also have a third popular option which goes by the name “sekametelisoppa”. This is an impossible word to translate so I feel it’s best to explain the sauce by a candy metaphor.

Imagine that instead of a bag of Allsorts English licorice, you have a bag of mixed dried fruit. Not only plums but apricots, raisins, apples, berries. Dates are amazing but do not work so well here. You’re best to choose dried fruits with decent skin so you get some tasty bits in the sauce. Don’t get me wrong, the simple plum sauce is divine but by layering different fruity flavors you get more notes to enjoy on every spoonful. Trust me, you want to try this.

The fruity all sorts sauce shared below is just how I like to cook it. Dried plums create the base whereas dried apricot is the soloist. Dried raisins and apples sing in the choir. On top of that, I add a hunch of cognac or pear cognac to taste. Cooking the sauce is really an easy side task in the meanwhile the rice porridge is slowly simmering next to it.

Dreamy Rice Porridge w/ Fruity All sorts Sauce | Recipe

This recipe yields 4 -6 portions depending if you serve the rice porridge as a fulfilling snack or as a sweet dessert. Rice porridge can be served warm or cold.

Use the milk of your choice. I often enjoy cooking this with goat’s milk, oat milk, or whole milk. A pot with a heavy base is your best friend here to avoid burning the porridge. If you don’t have short-grain rice available, use arborio rice or any other type of starchy rice. If you want to ditch the alcohol, you can also substitute some of the water with glögg.

Dreamy Rice Porridge w/ Fruity All sorts Sauce | Recipe

Print recipe

Makes/Serves: 4-6 Cooking time: 60 minutes 60 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

INGREDIENTS

Rice porridge

• Butter
• 200 ml water
• 160g /200ml porridge rice
• 1 litre milk of your choice
• 0,5 teaspoon salt

In a heavy-based pot, melt the butter and add rice and water. Bring it to bubble, mix well and then adjust to low heat for a few minutes to let the rice soak in the water. Add salt and milk of your choice. Cover the pot with a lid and let the porridge simmer for 50 minutes. While cooking the fruit sauce, mix the porridge every so often to not let it stick to the bottom.

 

Fruity All Sorts Sauce

• 10-12 dried plums
• 6 dried apricots
• 2 tablespoon of dried raisins
• 4 dried apples
• 40g sugar
• 340g water / 400 ml
• 1 whole clove
• 1 small star anis
• 1 tablespoon of potato starch + 43g/50 ml cold water
• touch of cognac or choice of your liquor

 

Prepare the fruits (100-130g depending how thick & crowded you want the sauce). Slice the plums in two, dice the dried apricots and apples. Transfer the fruits into cold water with spices. Bring the mix to boil and then adjust to a low heat. Cook the dried fruits for 20-30 minutes until soft. Remove the spices and add liquor of your choice. Prepare the starchy mixture with cold water. Add the mixture into the fruit sauce in a steady motion while stirring it in simultaneously. Let the sauce bubble once more and then set aside. If not served immediately, stir the fruit sauce couple of times while cooling to avoid the clingy top layer.

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Since photographing these two servings, I have cooked rice porridge twice already. It really is a heartwarming classic to enjoy throughout winter and not just as a Christmas day treat. I hope you enjoy this tradition and try out the fruity sekametelisoppa!

Love, Saara