Arroz con Leche

Okay, okay, it's rice pudding...but I used Spanish medium-grained rice, so I'm allowed to use a fancy name for it. This is the best rice pudding I've ever made and ever tasted. Using the medium-grain rice transformed the pudding to a glossy, textured creaminess, and delightful dish. A dish that I've eaten for breakfast 3 days in a row (and for dessert).

This isn't your typical mushy, flavorless rice pudding that is lollipop sweet. Hopefully you can tell by the pics that it's just so darn shiny. I'm a bit fascinated with it. The grains of rice are still complete and not ripped and turned into a porridge.

Most of you know I've been trying to eat better, so I used skim milk, which makes it virtually fat-free. It wasn't quite as rich as I'd like, so I poured 1 tablespoon of half and half over the top of each serving. It really did the trick, while only adding 20 calories....yeah me!

During the cooking, I used 1/4 cup of sugar, but it wasn't enough. Once it was done, I sprinkled 3 tablespoons of brown sugar over the top and stirred it in...¡perfecto! I prefer Saigon cinnamon, so that's what I used for this recipe, along with a seductive whisper of ground bay, making perfect spice companions.



Arroz con Leche

Yield: 4 cups

4-5 cups skim milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups medium-grain, Spanish, or Mexican rice

1 tsp. Saigon cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground bay

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

4 Tbsp. half and half, garnish

Boil the rice in about 3-4 cups of water with 1 tsp. salt for 20 minutes. Drain the water and add the milk, sugar, vanilla, ground bay, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Simmer, stirring frequently, for about 20-30 minutes or until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy. If the rice isn't done but it's too dry, add more skim milk in 1/4 cup increments until the rice is done. Serve each portion with 1 Tbsp. of the half and half.