Oh. Em. Gee. Arroz con Leche (rice pudding) is one of those foods, that when done right, is a mind-blowing experience. I've always been a fan, since arroz con leche (translation: rice with milk) is a very common Latin American dessert. Spiced with cinnamon and vanilla, this luxurious arborio rice pudding is the perfect balance of sweet and creamy, with a pudding-like texture. In my attempt to kick this dish up a notch from the traditional version, I've amped up the ingredients to produce a foodporn worthy dessert. Traditional arroz con leche uses regular rice, condensed and evaporated milks, and vanilla extract. This recipe uses Arborio rice, the same rice used for risotto. This results in an ultra-creamy texture, thanks to the super-starchy kernels. Instead of condensed milk and evaporated milk, we're using whole milk and heavy cream. And for an extra fresh spike of vanilla, we're using a whole split vanilla pod. These changes transform good, old fashioned rice pudding into a decadent dessert with the flavor kicked up.
1 cup Arborio rice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 vanilla pod, split and caviar scraped out
2 cinnamon sticks
2/3 cups heavy cream
In a sauce pot on medium heat, heat 5 cups of milk with 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 split vanilla pod, and 2 cinnamon sticks until it's just starting to bubble around the edges, but not boiling.
Meanwhile, in a large pot, melt 1 tablespoon of butter on medium heat, then add in the Arborio rice. Toast the rice in the butter for 1 minute, to open up the kernels.
Pour the hot milk mixture onto the rice.
Lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the rice is tender and the texture of the mixture has become rich and creamy. A good way to tell that the rice pudding is done is by dipping a back of a wooden spoon into the mixture, and using your finger to draw a line down the length of the spoon. If it's thick and the line stays separated, that means there's a ton of starch in the mixture, and it should be super creamy.
Remove the vanilla bean and cinnamon sticks from the mixture.
Pour the hot rice pudding into a glass bowl, then cover with plastic wrap. Make sure to press the plastic wrap onto the rice pudding, to keep it from forming a skin. Refrigerate the rice pudding for at least 4 hours, so it has a chance to cool completely.
Once the rice pudding has cooled completely, stir in 2/3 cup of heavy cream. Then it's ready to serve! Believe me, you will NOT regret making this.
