Mexican Rice Pudding (Arroz con Leche)
When I learned to make arroz con leche, a dear family friend, Hilda, taught me the importance of that first step which is rinsing the dry rice to remove the surface starch. This is what keeps the individual grains from clumping together. This beloved childhood dish is creamy and scented with cinnamon sticks. It is one of those comfort foods that brings back memories of chilly winter mornings with a bowl of warm rice pudding and my grandmother’s old fashioned gas heater warming us to the core. The cinnamon sticks can be removed before serving. I leave the bits of cinnamon stick in the pudding because I enjoy the pops of flavor when I bite into them. For a soupier rice pudding add 2 more cups of whole milk. You can serve it warm as I do for breakfast. I also enjoy it served chilled in individual cups for brunch or dessert with an array of toppings such as berries, nuts, mint, toasted coconut or chopped dried fruit. This recipe is in my cookbook, My South Texas Kitchen. I you try this recipe, share your photo with me at y_delicacies.
MEXICAN RICE PUDDING Arroz con Leche
YDelicacies.com Yvette Zuniga Jemison
Recipe from My South Texas Kitchen
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cup extra-long grain white rice
3 cups water, plus extra for rinsing rice
11/2 cups sugar
2 sticks of cinnamon 6 cups whole milk
1/2 cup condensed milk
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS :Berries, nuts, mint, toasted coconut or chopped dried fruit
1. Add the rice to a medium size pot and enough tap water to cover the rice. Stir until the water becomes opaque from the released starch, about 1 minute. Drain well.Repeat by adding tap water and rinsing the rice, again. Drain well and leave the rice in the pot.
2. Add 3 cups of water, sugar and cinnamon to the drained rice and bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the liquid is almost absorbed and the cinnamon becomes fragrant, 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the whole milk, condensed milk and stir tocombine. Stirring occasionally, return to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, until the rice is tender, 35-45 minutes. While simmering, stironly as needed to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Over stirring will result in mushy rice.
4. When the rice is tender, remove the pot from the heat. Cover the pot and let it sit until the rice is fluffy, about 30 minutes.
