Arroz con gandules
Local name : Arroz con gandules
Puerto Rican rice with pigeon peas, tinted by achiote oil and seasoned with sofrito, olives and capers.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
Method
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then drain it well.
- Heat the achiote oil in a heavy pot. Add the sofrito and cook for 4 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato purée, oregano and bay leaf, and cook 2 minutes more.
- Add the pigeon peas, olives and capers, then pour in the broth and salt. Bring to the boil.
- Add the rice, stir once, and boil uncovered until the liquid drops to the level of the grains.
- Cover, turn the heat to its lowest setting and give it 20 minutes without lifting the lid.
- Turn the rice over from the bottom, cover again and rest off the heat for 10 minutes.
The golden crust stuck to the base of the pot is called pegao, and people fight over it at the table. It forms in a heavy pot on low heat during the last five minutes. For achiote oil, warm 200 ml of oil with 2 tbsp of seeds until it colours, then strain.
