Rice Pudding Turnovers

One of the cookbook authors I respect is Rick Bayless. His Mexican recipes are trustworthy and accessible. When his daughter was a teenager, they visited a number of countries and put together this book which is a great one for beginning cooks of any age.

I serve these mostly at breakfast, but they make a good dessert following a Mexican dinner.

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Rice Pudding Turnovers

Source: Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures by Rick Bayless and Lanie Bayless
Yield: 9 turnovers

2 c water
1 (2-inch) piece of cinnamon stick, preferably canela from a Mexican market
1 c rice (medium-grain makes the creamiest pudding)
2 c milk, preferably whole
3/4 c sugar, divided
salt
9 (6-inch) flour tortillas (you can use whole wheat)
1 teas ground cinnamon, canela is best
About 1/3 c vegetable oil for frying

Bring to boil 2 c water and cinnamon stick in a saucepan over high heat. Stir in the rice, cover, and reduce heat to low and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon stick.

Stir in milk, 1/2 c sugar and 1/4 teas salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until thick, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Measure a scant 1/2 c pudding on each tortilla and fold over, pressing gently so the edges of the tortilla almost seal. The pudding will act as a kind of "glue".

In a large plate or pie dish mix the remaining 1/4 c sugar and the ground cinnamon. Place a cooling rack over some newspaper or paper towels for draining the turnovers. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet until hot but not smoking. Fry turnovers 2 at a time until browned on one side, 2-3 minutes. Use tongs or a spatula to carefully turn them over. Brown on the other side. Transfer to the rack briefly. While still hot, dip both sides of the turnovers in cinnamon sugar and serve.

Note:

If you don't have canela you can substitute a generous 1/4 teas ground cinnamon.

For the cinnamon sugar, if you can't find ground canela, you can grind your own if you have a spice grinder or blender. I advise purchasing a small coffee grinder to use as a spice grinder. They are pretty cheap at garage sales and thrift stores. Whole spices store much longer than ground. I have several coffee grinders so I can grind savory spices separately from sweet spices.

These don't have to be made all at the same time. You can refrigerate the pudding and cook later, after allowing the pudding to come to room temperature (or warm it in the microwave). I wouldn't go much longer than 5 days.