Arroz con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas)
By Andrea GearyPublished on September 23, 2024
Time
1 hour
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Look for sazón with culantro and achiote (also called annatto); avoid those without salt. Though this dish is usually made with sofrito, the culantro-based Puerto Rican flavor base, we use jarred recaito instead. Jarred recaito is culantro-based and tastes more like homemade Puerto Rican sofrito than jarred sofrito, which is tomato-based. Find gandules (pigeon peas) with the canned beans. If using an electric stovetop, set a second burner to medium-low while the rice boils in step 2; at the end of step 2, move the saucepan to the second burner to continue cooking.
Instructions
- Rinse rice in fine-mesh strainer until water runs clear. Drain thoroughly and set aside.
- Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add recaito and tomato sauce. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture begins to stick to pot, about 4 minutes. Stir in water, gandules and their liquid, olives, sazón, and pepper, scraping up any browned bits. Cover, increase heat to high, and bring to boil. Stir in rice and return to boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, uncovered, stirring and scraping bottom of pot every 2 minutes, until liquid is level with rice, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl, scraping any browned rice from bottom of pot, and serve.
Time
1 hourYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), the most iconic example of Puerto Rico's arroces compuestos (composed rice dishes), is widely considered the national dish of Puerto Rico. Like many other rice and bean dishes, it traditionally starts with sofrito—a puree of culantro, garlic, onions, sweet peppers, and sometimes tomato. But because fresh culantro (similar to cilantro but more assertive) can be hard to find, we substituted jarred recaito for sofrito because it provided more culantro punch than either fresh cilantro (a commonly suggested substitute) or jarred sofrito. Commercial sazòn and a small amount of canned tomato sauce contributed savory backbone and gave the rice an attractive reddish hue. Stirring the rice gently partway through cooking ensured that each grain softened but didn't turn mushy.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
Look for sazón with culantro and achiote (also called annatto); avoid those without salt. Though this dish is usually made with sofrito, the culantro-based Puerto Rican flavor base, we use jarred recaito instead. Jarred recaito is culantro-based and tastes more like homemade Puerto Rican sofrito than jarred sofrito, which is tomato-based. Find gandules (pigeon peas) with the canned beans. If using an electric stovetop, set a second burner to medium-low while the rice boils in step 2; at the end of step 2, move the saucepan to the second burner to continue cooking.
Instructions
- Rinse rice in fine-mesh strainer until water runs clear. Drain thoroughly and set aside.
- Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add recaito and tomato sauce. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture begins to stick to pot, about 4 minutes. Stir in water, gandules and their liquid, olives, sazón, and pepper, scraping up any browned bits. Cover, increase heat to high, and bring to boil. Stir in rice and return to boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, uncovered, stirring and scraping bottom of pot every 2 minutes, until liquid is level with rice, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl, scraping any browned rice from bottom of pot, and serve.
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