Mexican Rice Pudding (Arroz con Leche)

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 ofwarm 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 flavorwhen I bite into them. I’m grateful that our family friend, Hilda, taught me the importance of the first step which is rinsing the rice. Removing some of the surface starch in this step will make the difference between fluffy and mushy grains of rice. For a soupier rice pudding add 2 more cups of whole milk. You can serve it warm as I do for breakfast. I alsoenjoy 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. If you enjoy this recipe, you’ll find more South Texas favorites like it in my cookbook here.

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MEXICAN RICE PUDDING  Arroz con Leche

YDelicacies.com Yvette Zuniga Jemison

Recipe from My South Texas Kitchen Cookbook

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.