Recipe - Arroz con Leche (Spanish Rice Pudding)

I recall that as a child I would awaken on Sunday mornings to the sweet smell of rice slowly simmering in milk and sugar. It was such a pleasure to walk into the kitchen and behold the old pot on top of the stove bubbling away. I would occasionally try to sneak a taste, but I knew that the decadent dessert was far too hot for my young taste buds to handle. I knew that the wait would be unbearably long, but after a few hours of being in the ice box the simmering rice mixture would be heaven's own marvelous dessert. Although some would now disagree with me and insist that rice pudding is to be eaten warm, I still hold to my Mother's tradition and eat it as a cold dessert. ~Marcos

Ingredients 1/2 gallon Milk (whole or low fat) 1 cup Paella Rice Tip From Yaya’s Kitchen: Do not use common store bought rice for this recipe. You may substitute Arborio if that is all the is available. 1 cup Sugar 2 Cinnamon Sticks (whole) 2 strips of Lemon peel/lemon twist Prep Time/ Cook Time 1 hour cooking on the stove top Instructions In a large pot, add the milk, rice, cinnamon sticks, and lemon peel. Cook over low heat for 1 hour, stirring every couple minutes to prevent burning. The milk should just barely be simmering. Tip From Yaya’s Kitchen: If the bottom of the pot starts to scorch and the rice sticks, stop stirring immediately or the entire recipe will be ruined. The only way to “fix” the recipe is to use a ladle or spoon to transfer the un-burnt portion to a fresh pot, then continue cooking as before. After about an hour of cooking you will notice the mixture is noticeably thicker. At this point use a slotted spoon to remove the lemon skin and cinnamon sticks. Add the sugar and stir gently until mixed. Tip From Yaya’s Kitchen: Adding lemon peel to the recipe gives a fantastic flavor, but be sure to remove it once cooking is complete or it will give a slight bitter taste to the entire recipe. Transfer the mixture to a bowl for cooling. While this recipe is traditionally served cold after several hours of refrigeration to thicken, you may also serve it hot off the stove. Tip From Yaya’s Kitchen: One of our Large Clay Pans is perfect to serve this recipe. The large shallow pan allows the mixture to cool rapidly, as well as to impart a traditional appearance to the dish.