Arroz con gandules is not just a holiday dish! You can make it year-round whenever you're in the mood for a delicious and savory dinner. It's the perfect complement to any meat, like ham, turkey, chicken, and pork. It also pairs well with other sides, like vegetables, pasteles, yucca, salads, escabeche de guineo, and the list goes on.
Tip: Make this vegetarian by skipping the pork, the achiote (contains pork fat), and substituting the beef bullion for vegetable bullion or stock.
INGREDIENTS:
The Base:
• 1 pound pork shoulder cut into pieces (or meat of your choice)
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons garlic
• 3 tablespoons sofrito
• Handful of olives (about 10)
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers
• 1 tablespoon achiote (annatto paste)
• Seasonings to taste: Ground black pepper, Adobo, Salt
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 packets beef bullion
• 2 packets sazon con culantro y achiote
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
The Rice and Pigeon Peas
• 1 bag frozen gandules or a can
• 6 cups white rice (long or medium grain)
• 2 cups water
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat pot on medium heat. Add pork.
2. Add oil. Sear pork for 3-5 minutes per side to brown the outside. This caramelization will add delicious flavor and color to the rice.
3. Add the garlic, sofrito, olives, and roasted red peppers. Stir.
4. Add beef bullion, adobo, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, and sazon. Stir.
5. Add achiotina and tomato sauce. Stir to combine all ingredients.
6. Pour in gandules and stir well to coat the gandules with the mixture. Add water. Cook for 30 minutes until gandules are tender to the touch. (Careful: Hot!)
7. Add rice and stir well using a sturdy spoon, making sure to bring the rice from the bottom and sides of the pot up to the top. If neccessary, slowly add additional water to make sure rice is covered.
8. Bring rice to a boil. Once water has dried up, stir it well again, bringing the bottom and side rice to the top of the pot.
9. Lower the heat and cover the pot. Cook for 25-30 minutes. DO NOT UNCOVER THE POT DURING THIS TIME!
10. Stir the rice and check the texture. The ideal texture is tender and moist, not grainy. If needed, cover and cook an additional 5-10 minutes until tender.
11. Serve hot.
Pictured above: A traditional Puerto Rican holiday meal with modern sides. Arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), pastel de yucca (yucca meat pie), glazed ham, pernil (roast pork), sweet potato soufflé, and macaroni & cheese.
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