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• 4 slices bacon or diced ham, optional (or chicken/shrimp)
• 2 tablespoons oil, vegetable oil, olive oil, or achiote oil
• 1 cup canned gandules, or frozen, drained from the water
• ¾ cup tomato sauce
• ½ cup green olives, sliced or whole, or capers
• ¼ cup sofrito, thawed if using store-bought frozen sofrito
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
• ½ packet Sazon con culantro y achiote, or 1 tsp homemade sazon seasoning
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 ½ cups water, or low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 ½ cups arroz Rico, medium-grain white rice

Steps

• Heat a pot like a Dutch oven, or a caldero if you have one, over medium heat. If using meat, slowly cook the meat until crispy. Remove the meat from the pot and set aside leaving the drippings. If not using meat, add oil before continuing with the next step.
• Add the gandules, tomato sauce, green olives, sofrito, salt, adobo seasoning, sazon, black pepper, and cumin. Stir to combine and cook for about 5 minutes fully. Once the mixture becomes fragrant, pour in the water and bring it to a boil over high heat.
• Using a fine mesh sieve, rinse your rice well with water in the sink and then add the rice to the pot. Stir until rice is submerged and pigeon peas are distributed evenly and bring to a boil once more.
• Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for about 25 minutes. You can add your ham or bacon back in now if you want, or wait to add it in again before serving. It is important to keep the pot covered with a tight-fitting lid to trap the steam and keep the moisture in, to properly cook the rice. If you don’t have one, make one out of foil.
• Optional: Halfway through cooking, remove the lid and stir by folding rice from the bottom up, but do not disturb the rice at the bottom of the pan. Or for the traditional way, stir the rice while cooking to get the best pegao (the crispy, golden layer of rice that forms at the bottom of the pot). Never stir more than once
• After simmering for 25 minutes, remove it from the heat and let it sit untouched (with lid on) for 10 minutes. The rice is done once all the liquid is absorbed. After letting the rice rest, remove the lid, and enjoy!

Do you have any tips or tricks on making it, or why people may like this recipe, or any memories from it?

My family in Spain always made this for me, and it has grown on me so much that I made it here. Rice is absolutely delicious and can be served with anything, making it a staple for all.

Thank you for this very delicious recipe! Do you have anything to say to the audience?

ENJOY AND HASTA LUEGO, MIS AMIGOS Y AMIGAS.

And with that, we’ve reached the end of the post. I will be back next time with more fresh and delicious content. If anyone would like to share a recipe with us, DM me with your ideas!

Bon Appétit! <3

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