Postcards from Buster . Recipes . Arroz Con Leche

Arroz Con Leche

"Arroz Con Leche" means "rice with milk." When I was in Miami, I met Athena, and this is her favorite dessert. It's like a Cuban rice pudding. You can eat it hot or cold -- it's great both ways! Here's a simplified version.

Check with a grownup and wash your hands before you begin.
Put the rice and cinnamon in a large microwave-safe bowl. Mix them together; then pour in the water.
Microwave on high for 10 minutes.
Leave the bowl in the microwave and microwave on medium-low for 15-20 minutes more until the rice has soaked up all the water and looks dry. The time this takes might be longer or shorter depending on the cooking power of your microwave. Use oven mitts to remove the bowl of rice from the microwave.
Mix the sugar, flour, and salt in a medium bowl.
Add the milk slowly to the sugar mixture. Stir until the sugar is mixed into the milk.
Slowly pour the milk mixture into the rice. Keep stirring the rice while you pour in the milk.
Mix in the raisins. Let it sit for a few minutes. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon.
Clean up the kitchen before you dish up your arroz on leche to give it the time it needs to thicken. Now that's some nice rice!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked rice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup raisins
sprinkle of ground cinnamon for topping

UTENSILS:

Large microwave-safe bowl
Medium mixing bowl
Large spoon

All animated characters and underlying materials (including artwork) © Marc Brown.
Buster and the other Marc Brown characters are trademarks of Marc Brown.
©2007 WGBH