Finnish Rice Porridge (Pudding) With Blueberry Sauce (Gluten and Dairy Free)

In Finland rice porridge is eaten as a traditional Christmas morning food but also throughout the year as a breakfast. It is eaten with some cinnamon and sugar or with for instance a sauce made of blueberries and thickened with potato starch or some other starch. This food does not follow autoimmune or paleo protocols I have been posting recently about but it is gluten free and dairy free. I am posting this because I am often asked for this recipe and my kids still eat some rice. The blueberry sauce in this post I thickened with arrowroot starch to avoid night shades.

Rice Porridge (Riisipuuro)

1 cup white short grain rice such as arborio or sushi rice (in Finland they sell it as "porridge rice"!)
1 cup water
1 cup full fat coconut milk + 4 cups water
1 tsp sea salt

1. Add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of rice to a big sauce pan. Boil for 5 minutes.

2. Add coconut milk and rest of the water.

3. Bring to boil stirring from time to time. Keep an eye that it doesn't boil over and make a mess of your stove top (I hate cleaning it so I try to be careful!).

4. Simmer on low for an hour mixing it a few times so it won't burn. If you soak the rice before hand, the cooking time will be shorter.

5. Add salt. Serve with cinnamon and (maple) sugar or blueberry sauce.

TIP: Make it in the oven: Use a fat of your choice to grease a big enough oven pan. Add all ingredients to the pan, mix and cook in 350 F for three hours. My mom used to make this overnight on very low heat.

Blueberry sauce (Mustikkakeitto)

2 cups frozen wild blueberries
4 cups water
3 tbsp arrowroot starch (an other starch would work too, in my pre-AIP life I used potato starch)
3 tbsp maple sugar

1. Measure all ingredients and add them a sauce pan.

2. Bring to boil stirring it constantly. When the first bubbles appear remove from heat. It should have thickened by now. Let cool down. It is best served cold with the warm porridge.