Arroz con Leche (Spanish Milk-Rice Pudding)
CATEGORIES
INGREDIENTS
- Cooking Time: 20
- Servings: 6-8
- Preparation Time: 10
- just under 4 c milk
- just over 1 c rice (I use Jasmine rice - the consistency/texture comes out much smoother than regular long-grained rice, which can get a bit crunchy. I haven't tried short-grain rice yet.)
- just over 2/3 c sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
- entire peel from 1 lemon, cut into 10-15 pieces
- powdered cinnamon (to taste)
DIRECTIONS
- Add just enough water to cover the rice. Cook on the stovetop until all water is absorbed (~5 mins)
- Add milk, cinnamon stick (if desired), and lemon peel pieces. Bring to a light boil.
- After about 10 minutes of boiling, add sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Continue cooking 5 minutes or so, until the pudding has thickened. Scoop out a few grains of rice and taste them to see if they're done. If the rice is done and the pudding is thick enough for you, it's done.
- Remove cinnamon stick (if used). I usually leave the lemon peel in to continue adding flavor, but you can remove that, too, if you'd like.
- Pour into individual serving dishes/bowls. Dust with powdered cinnamon while still warm. Once it's begun to cool and harden, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate until cold and set. Serve cold.
RECIPE BACKSTORY
When I lived in Spain, I had Arroz con Leche regularly, but when I came back to the States, I knew I wouldn't be able to find it anywhere. So, I searched online, cobbled together a recipe from several Spanish sources I found, and practiced with it a bit until I came up with something I liked. All the Spanish recipes are in the metric system, so I had to convert them.