Some of my earliest memories are of my great grandmother Primitiva making arroz con leche for me almost every night for dessert. There is such a nostalgic attachment to this particular dessert because of her and I’ve been thinking about it non-stop recently. I love her original recipe but it’s not exactly the healthiest way to enjoy it, so I wanted to switch out some of the ingredients to make it a bit more waist circumference friendly. The end result did not disappoint, it was everything I wanted it to be and a nice alternative for breakfast or dessert.
ARROZ CON LECHE
INGREDIENTS
1 cup arborio rice
3 cups almond milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup almond milk
1-2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
handful of pecans roughly chopped
1 teaspoon coconut sugar
1. In a large saucepan, stir together 3 cups of milk and the rice.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Reduce heat to medium and boil until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring often.
4. Stir in the other 1/2 cup of milk, cinnamon, honey, salt and lemon zest.
5. Increase the heat to high and return to a boil, stirring often.
6. Reduce the heat to medium and boil again until creamy.
7. Remove from heat.
8. Stir in the vanilla and let the mixture stand for 15-20 minutes to thicken.
9. In a small skillet, toast the pecans with the coconut sugar just until you can begin to smell the sugar. You want to toast them but watch carefully for the coconut sugar can burn easily.
10. To serve, spoon in rice mixture, drizzle with additional honey, add a fruit if you like, sprinkle the pecans with coconut sugar and finish with some lemon zest!
