Easy and Delicious Arroz con Gandules

this Recipe!

Rice and Pigeon Peas, a Puerto Rican jewel

Arroz con Gandules is one of those dishes that mark a season. And for Puerto Ricans, that season is the Holidays or any special celebration. Christmas is not Christmas without the holy trinity. No, not the Three Kings, at least not until January. But the trinity of Arroz con Gandules, Pernil, and Coquito. We will discuss all three in the next few weeks. Today, we'll concentrate on the rice.

Why this recipe works

What is Arroz con Gandules?

I will say, if it were up to me, Arroz con Gandules would be the National Side Dish. Rice with Pigeon peas is available at eateries, restaurants, and homes across Puerto Rico all year round. But, it is a traditional dish for celebrations and during Christmas. This was one of the few dishes I enjoyed eating as a kid. I do not know why. Maybe I thought the pigeon peas were deliciously cute.

Like rice with beans, rice with pigeon peas is the same. Rice cooked with sofrito and peas, adding achiote oil and tomato paste for color. I did not use tomato paste this time, just oil. I like my rice to be grainy and moist.

What are the key ingredients for Arroz con Gandules?

If you have read my previous posts, you should not wonder what I am saying because we put this ingredient in EVERYTHING. Sofrito. If you have not jumped into the sofrito bandwagon, Why are You Waiting? This stuff goes on everything you can think of. Except for desserts, we have our limits, lol. Click here for a basic sofrito recipe.

Sofrito. Sofrito is the key ingredient in almost every single Puerto Rican dish. If you want to cook Puerto Rican food, keep sofrito in your refrigerator. For my easy-to-make recipe, click here. I will tell you if you haven't read my post on sofrito and want to learn what sofrito is all about quickly. Sofrito is equivalent to the French Mirepoix and the southern Trinity. In essence, it is a flavor base on which to build your dishes.

Ham or Tocino. I keep my rice vegetarian. I do not add ham or tocino to it, but traditionally these two ingredients are major key players. Ham and tocino are vital players in sofrito too. The ham and tocino impart a flavor to the rice we affectionately call; "Se come solo" (sayh-comayh-solo), roughly translated to It eats itself. This means the dish is so delicious. It will eat itself. If you were to add ham or tocino, your rice would be infused with pork flavor, allowing you to eat it the way it is. A technique applied from scarcity was when a small amount of meat would be used to add flavor when there wasn't any meat for the main course.

One more ingredient

Rice. I prefer Jasmine rice. It is a good size grain and not too starchy. Plus a nice fragrant flavor. Can you use short-grain rice? Sure, but short-grain rice tends to be starchier and stickier once cooked. Can you use Basmati? Of course! It is long-grain rice and renders a beautifully grainy dish, adding a nutty flavor to your dish. For more information on rice, please check this post, Types of Rice, by Webstaurantstore.com.

What are Pigeon Peas?

These tiny peas are so delicious!! I like them because they never seem to be complicated. Weird but true. As a child, I had a few sensory issues regarding food. Not that anyone would know since I was pretty robust. In a way, I still have these issues. Still, I'm not too fond of the sensation of something crunchy in my mouth when what I am eating is supposed to be soft. For example, uncooked rice, beans that haven't softened enough, seeds in strawberries, tiny chicken bones, or fish bones, to name a few. But for some reason, rice and pigeon peas were always great.

The peas were never the issue. That is one reason why I like pigeon peas: the other reason is tradition. There is no holiday or celebration in rice, and pigeon peas are absent. Of course, other side dishes will appear, but Rice and Pigeon peas will always be there. Rice and Pigeon peas are almost like a badge of honor. When planning a gathering, if you are asked to bring your rice, it is like winning an award.

Fun Facts about Pigeon peas

Before the Industrial Revolution, the world lived by the seasons. We (the world as a whole) knew there was a season for specific fruits and vegetables due to seasonal changes. Therefore we had typical dishes for particular seasons. Well, even in tropical Puerto Rico, there was no exception. The gandul or gandules were the beans available to many Puerto Ricans during the winter. Yes, believe it or not, temperatures would change enough to have the tiny pigeon pea be more prominent during the winter months of November to February. Does this mean we didn't have the pea available throughout the year? Or the red beans didn't grow during those months? Not really, but we developed a rice and pigeon pea combination that reflects "party" whenever served, ARROZ CON GANDULES.

The gandul is a tiny greenish-brown pea. Compared to the red bean, the gandul, or pigeon pea, contains a tremendous nutritional value besides another tasty B vitamin complex capsule and a source of vitamin C, manganese, iron, and phosphorus. In addition, gandules are packed with potassium, protein, folate, and dietary fiber. These great vitamins and minerals help digestion, growth, bone density, anemia, energy, and immunity. All in a tiny pill-sized pea! Thanks to the industrial revolution, we now have gandules available all year round. But we still make Arroz con gandules for major festivities and celebrations.

Dried or rehydrated peas?

I usually use canned peas, but there are benefits to using dried peas instead. If you want to control the amount of sodium in your food, consider rehydrating your legumes. The process is not as scary or complicated as many might think, and you have complete control of what is going on with your food.

Many brands that offer dried versions of the legumes have recipes stating how to rehydrate in the packaging. I suggest following those versions. Eventually, you will develop your technique. If you emptied all the beans into a canister and threw away the bag, here is my recipe for rehydrating beans.

Can Arroz con Gandules be made Vegan or Vegetarian?

The answer is a resounding YES!!! And it is DELICIOUS, or like someone commented in one of my IG posts, YUMAZING! I always make my Arroz con Gandules as vegan as possible. Although I do not consider myself a vegan, I have vegan friends, and the thought that they could not eat my rice only because I added a pork byproduct makes me sad. Also, I already eat enough meat in my diet. I do not need more added to this dish. My sofrito is also vegan, so I can safely say that the entire dish is vegan. In complete honesty, I eat this rice, just by itself at times, because it is that good, lol, and I do not miss the meat.

I am making my rice for a potluck. Can I make it in advance?

Definitely! This is what this dish was made for, sharing! There are a few options here; 1. Make it in your regular caldero (pot), and once cooked, transfer the rice to an aluminum pan with a lid. Chill and reheat before the gathering; 2. Make the rice in the aluminum pan in the oven, chill and reheat before the gathering.

Baking Arroz con Gandules

The trick about baking your rice is to boil your liquid before adding it to the pan and preheating the oven to 325.

• I add my onions, garlic, rice, achiote oil, and gandules to the pan and mix. Then pour the boiling liquid into the pan.
• NOTE: place the pan on a cookie sheet for easy transport to and from the oven.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake uncovered until the water dries out (this is where we are flying blind, each oven is different, and times vary, but it should take about 5 to 10 minutes).
• Then cover the pan with aluminum foil and continue cooking for the remaining time, which would total 20 minutes (so, if it took 5 minutes to dry, then bake for 15 minutes).
• Remove from the oven, fluff with a fork, and serve.
• If serving the next day, let the pan come to room temperature, fluff with a fork every 10 to 15 minutes to allow the steam to leave, and cool the rice faster.
• Once at room temp, cover and place in the fridge until needed to be reheated for service.
• NOTE: When reheating, whether for your family or friends, ensure the rice comes to a safe temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature assures that any harmful bacteria that could have settled in the rice are killed.

Making Arroz con Gandules

To make this delicious rice, you will need the following:

• Two cups of rice
• One can of pigeon peas or two cups of rehydrated peas
• Two and a quarter cups of water or a choice of broth for added flavor
• One small onion or half of a large yellow onion, peeled and diced
• Two tablespoons of sofrito
• Two tablespoons of achiote oil

1. Measure the rice. Using a mesh strainer or colander and a bowl, rinse the rice by soaking the rice and then dumping the rice onto the strainer. Repeat until rice water runs clear. Set aside and let drain. Also, rinse and drain one can of pigeon peas.

2. While the rice drains, dice as small as possible one small yellow onion (of half a large onion). Heat your caldero or saucepot to medium heat and add about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the onions and cook until translucent.

3. Add the rice, pigeon peas, and 2 tablespoons of achiote oil. Toss to incorporate the oil into the rice and toast the grains. Once the rice is thoroughly coated with achiote oil, add two and one-quarter cups of water or broth (vegetable broth works well for this, but some brands are thicker than others, so consider doing half water and half broth).

4. Cook the rice uncovered without stirring for about five minutes (rarely do I cook it at this stage past five minutes, but I have done it) on medium to high heat or until most of the water has evaporated. Then cover, but do not stir. Lower the heat to the lowest setting and let cook covered for about 15 minutes.

Cooking Rice Troubleshooting

Rice cooks for about 20 minutes in total. There is some simple math involved, though. If cooking uncovered takes 5 minutes, the rice would cook covered for 15 minutes. Adjust your covered time, depending on how long it took to cook uncovered. Check rice for doneness by fluffing rice with a fork. I have used a spoon before, but I do find the big cooking spoon squashes the rice. The tines of the fork are far more delicate and allow you to lift the rice without smashing it. If by any chance the rice is not entirely done, let it rest covered for a few minutes. If the rice is entirely undercooked, add about one-quarter cup of water, cover and set the burner to the lowest setting, and cook for another five to ten minutes.

📖 Recipe

Arroz con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas)

Zoe Morman

Arroz con Gandules is one of those dishes that mark a season.  And for Puerto Ricans, that season is the Holidays or any special celebration.  Christmas is not Christmas without the holy trinity.  Not the Three Kings, at least not until January.  But the trinity of Arroz con Gandules, Pernil, and Coquito.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Puerto Rican

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ Two cups of rice
• ▢ One can of pigeon peas or two cups of rehydrated peas
• ▢ Two and a quarter cups of water or choice of broth
• ▢ one small onion or half of a large yellow onion peeled and diced
• ▢ Two tablespoons of sofrito
• ▢ Two tablespoons of achiote oil

Instructions

 

• 1. Measure the rice. For this recipe, I used 2 cups of rice. Using a mesh strainer or colander and a bowl, rinse the rice by soaking the rice and then dumping the rice onto a strainer. Repeat until rice water runs clear. Set aside and let drain. Also, rinse and drain one can of pigeon peas.
• 2. While rice drains, dice as small as possible one small yellow onion (half a large onion). Heat your caldero or saucepot to medium heat and add about one tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the onions and cook until translucent.
• 3. Add the rice, pigeon peas, and two tablespoons of achiote oil. Toss to incorporate the oil into the rice and toast the grains. Once the rice is thoroughly coated with achiote oil, add two and one-quarter cups of water or broth (vegetable broth works well for this, but some brands are thicker than others, so consider doing half water and half broth).
• 4. Cook the rice uncovered and without stirring for about five minutes (rarely do I cook it at this stage past five minutes, but I have done it) on medium to high heat or until the majority of the water has evaporated. Then cover, but do not stir, lower the heat to the lowest setting and let cook covered for about 15 minutes. 

Notes

• Rice cooks in about 20 minutes total. There is some simple math involved, though. For example, if cooking uncovered took 5 minutes, the rice would cook covered for 15 minutes. So adjust your covered time, depending on how long it took to cook uncovered.
• Check rice for doneness by fluffing rice with a fork. I have used a spoon before, but the big cooking spoon squashes the rice. The tines of the fork are far more delicate and allow to lift the rice without smashing it.
• If, by any chance, the rice is not entirely done, let it rest covered for a few minutes. If the rice is still undercooked, add about one-quarter cup of water, cover and set the burner to the lowest setting, and cook for another five to ten minutes.

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