Puerto Rican · Main course · SAMPLE RECIPE
Arroz con gandules · rice & pigeon peas
Golden rice cooked with pigeon peas, sofrito, tomato, and a few briny olives. A fragrant Puerto Rican favorite that makes a generous side or a simple meatless meal.
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A NOTE FROM THE KITCHEN
Gandules are pigeon peas, not green garden peas.
This meatless home version starts with canned pigeon peas and prepared Puerto Rican-style green sofrito or recaito. Look for a blend of peppers, onion, garlic, and cilantro or culantro. The rice is long-grain white rice; other varieties may need a different amount of liquid.
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Arroz con gandules · rice & pigeon peas
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BEHIND THE DISH · Puerto Rican rice cooking
Arroz con gandules · rice & pigeon peasBeyond the plate.
Pigeon peas and an aromatic sofrito base give this golden pot of rice its familiar character.
ORIGINS & EVOLUTION
A distinctive pea in a familiar pot.
Arroz con gandules brings rice and pigeon peas together with a seasoned cooking liquid. Puerto Rican preparations commonly include sofrito, tomato, and olives, with different cooks choosing additional seasonings or meat. Gandules are a separate legume from the small green garden peas that their English name might suggest.
CULTURAL CONTEXT
A place beside the celebration roast.
The rice is closely associated with Puerto Rican holiday meals, including tables where pernil is the centerpiece. It also works as an everyday side. Its flavor comes from cooking the grains in the aromatic base, rather than dressing plain cooked rice afterward.
AT THE TABLE
A meatless version with pantry help.
Our home recipe uses canned pigeon peas, vegetable stock, and purchased Puerto Rican-style green sofrito. Long-grain white rice cooks under a lid after an initial uncovered simmer. A short rest lets the grains settle before the rice is gently fluffed.
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