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Arroz Con Gandules (Rice and Pigeon Peas)

Arroz Con Gandules (Rice and Pigeon Peas) Recipe

This recipe starts with fresh pigeon peas and I am translating it from Spanish. It comes from an old cookbook, originally published in 1954 called "Cocina Criolla" by Carmen Aboy Valldejuli who was born in 1912. So I suppose she would know Puerto Rican cooking if anyone does!
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Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 1 hr
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Puerto Rican
Calories 548.3 kcal

Ingredients
  

Pigeon Peas

  • 1 lb pigeon peas, picked over and rinsed clean (fresh gandules)
  • 10 cups water, divided
  • 4 teaspoons kosher salt

Sofrito

  • 1/2 ounce bacon, minced
  • 1 ounce ham, minced
  • 1 medium onion, minced
  • 1 aji bell peppers, seeded and minced (small sweet pepper that resembles an habanero)
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and minced
  • 1 medium tomatoes, minced
  • 3 stems culantro, minced
  • 3 fresh cilantro stems, minced

Additional ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons achiote oil ($notetemplate1$)
  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce
  • 3 pimento stuffed olives
  • 1/2 teaspoon capers

Rice

  • 2 1/4 cups long grain white rice

Instructions
 

  • Soak pigeon peas overnight in 6 cups of water; drain and discard water.
  • In a large, covered pot, combine peas with 4 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat; cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook 30 minutes.
  • Season with salt and cook 15 minutes more; drain, reserving 3 cups of the cooking liquid (you may need to add more water to end up with the 3 cups).
  • Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, lightly brown the bacon and ham; add in the remaining sofrito ingredients and saute, over low heat until all the ingredients are tender and the tomatoes break down.
  • Stir in the additional ingredients and combine well; stir in the peas and rice.
  • Add the 3 cups of reserved cooking liquid and let cook, uncovered, until almost dry (it will look like little volcanos are erupting); stir up the rice from the bottom.
  • Cover and turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let cook 30 minutes, turning the rice, from the bottom, once halfway through cooking.
  • NOTE: This is how the dish is supposed to be cooked. I prefer to add the olives after the last turning of the rice for a "cleaner" flavor.

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Nutrition

Serving: 465gCalories: 548.3kcalCarbohydrates: 107gProtein: 23.4gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0.8gCholesterol: 4.1mgSodium: 1345.7mgFiber: 13.3gSugar: 2.3g
Keyword < 4 Hours, Caribbean, Christmas, From Scratch, Puerto Rican, Rice
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