This simple Spanish-style rice pudding is infused with cinnamon and lemon zest. It uses whole milk rather than evaporated or condensed milk and it has a luscious, creamy texture - the perfect ending to a great meal!
Add the rice to a medium saucepan and top with 300ml (1¼) cups of cool water, the cinnamon sticks and the lemon zest strips. Cover, bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid and stir in the milk, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer, uncovered. Stirring occasionally, cook until the rice is very tender and the liquid is mostly absorbed - about 20 minutes.
Take off the heat and remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon zest. Stir in the vanilla. Divide the rice evenly into 4 serving dishes. Allow to cool to room temperature before covering and moving to the refrigerator. Allow to chill completely - about 2-3 hours.
Before serving, remove the puddings from the fridge and dust with ground cinnamon.
Notes
Use the weight measurement of salt over the volumetric if at all possible. The volume of different styles and brands of salt can vary drastically so going by weight will give you the most consistent results.