(Arroz con Leche)
Mexicans have long figured out what to do with their leftovers. In this case, this is what they do with leftover white rice. The recipe I’ve provided is for uncooked rice, but you can use leftover rice by skipping the first ten minutes of cooking. Just add the cinnamon sticks to your rice and milks with the vanilla.
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
2 cinnamon sticks
One 14-ounce can condensed milk
One 14-ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract Ground cinnamon for sprinkling
Put the rice and cinnamon sticks into a medium saucepan with 1½ cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the cover and cook until most of the water is evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add the condensed, evaporated, and whole milks and the vanilla and stir. Lower the heat to medium and cook uncovered, stirring, until the rice is tender and the milks thicken, about 15 minutes more. Discard the cinnamon sticks. Remove from the heat and let the rice cool down a bit. The milk will thicken more as it cools.
Spoon into individual serving dishes and sprinkle some ground cinnamon over each serving.
Serve warm or refrigerate to chill, if you like it cold.
VARIATIONS: You can spice it up by pouring a bit of rum over each dish before serving. If you like yours with a bit of extra texture, stir in ½ cup of raisins after you’ve discarded the cinnamon sticks and/or sprinkle some sliced almonds on top before you add the ground cinnamon.