Rice and Peas Recipe
It is said Sunday wouldn’t be Sunday in the Jamaica without ‘Rice & Peas’ on the menu, yet this delicious coconut-based rice dish and Caribbean staple is great served on any day of the week!
Enjoy as an accompaniment to a whole host of island-inspired meals. The ‘Peas’ used are traditionally Red Kidney Beans yet can also be made using Gungo Peas or Green Pigeon Peas too
Ingredients:
Serves 8-10 people Preparation Time 15-20 minutes Cooking Time 40 minutes
1 kg Easy Cook Long Grain Rice – washed and drained (wash and drain your rice several times until the water runs clear) 1 large Scotch Bonnet Pepper – whole
1 large onion – finely chopped 1 tbsp ground black pepper
5 spring onions – finely chopped 1 tbsp Dunn’s River Ground Pimento
1 x 400g can Dunn’s River Red Kidney Beans 2 tbsp salt
1 x 400ml can Grace or Dunn’s River Coconut Milk Water – approx 500ml
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Method
Heat the oil in a deep-bottomed pan and sweat off the onions, spring onions, thyme, black pepper and Dunn’s River Ground Pimento, stirring for 2 minutes on a medium heat.
Add your washed and drained rice to the pot and stir well until all the rice becomes slicked with the flavoured oil. Continue to stir and cook on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
Add all the remaining ingredients to the pot and top up with the 500ml of water. Turn the heat to high and bring to the boil for 5 minutes.
Stir well, then reduce the heat to a low-medium setting, cover the pan and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, stirring half way through.
Take the pan off the heat, remove lid and allow the rice & peas to air-cool for 5-10 minutes. Remove the Scotch Bonnet pepper and Thyme stalks from the pan (you can leave the Scotch Bonnet pepper in the pot and burst it and stir through the rice is you want a really fiery version of this dish!), then take a fork and run through the rice to fluff up before serving – Great served as an accompaniment to Curried Goat or Jerk Chicken – Enjoy!
For more delicious Caribbean recipes visit
caribbeanfoodweek.com
