Today, I wrap up my nod to Hispanic Heritage Month. While Taco and Chimichanga Day just happened to fall within the month, I needed to come up with 2 other dishes. So, much like my Christmas In series, I decided to go to the old tried and true: pick-a-name-out-of-a-hat method. I ended up drawing Panama (Sancocho) and Puerto Rico! Today’s dish, Arroz con Gandules, hails from PR and is a satisfying slammer. It’s typically served around Christmas time, and I can see why with the nutmeggy/mintish notes of achiote, but it’s been cold and rainy recently and this dish made us all very happy.
Arroz con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas)
6 slices thick-cut bacon
½ lb ham steak, diced
Onion
Green pepper
1 cubanelle pepper
½ red pepper
6 scallions
6 cloves garlic, peeled
Sazón spice
Cilantro
4 oz tomato sauce
2 tsp achiote
1 tsp cumin
12 spanish olives
1 can gandules, drained
3 leaves culantro, diced
1.5 cups rice
1.5 cup chicken stock
Slice the bacon into ½-inch wide strips and render in a dutch oven over medium-low heat. Once the bacon begins to brown, add in the ham steak and cook together until the bacon has fully rendered and is crispy brown. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and reserve in a bowl.
Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the onion, seed and rough chop your peppers and place everything in a food processor. Slice the green onion into thirds and add to the other vegetables with the garlic, 1 tbsp of sazón, a fistful of cilantro leaves and a teaspoon of water and some kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Pulse until combined and everything has been chopped finely. Reserve the sofrito.
Once the meat has rendered, stir in 3 tbsp of sofrito (reserve the rest for another use), the tomato sauce, achiote, cumin, olives, gandules, culantro, and a pinch of salt. Sauté for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Drain and add to the pot along with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Then, cover and cook over low heat for about 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, test some of the rice to see if it needs to cook for another few minutes. If
satisfactory, cover and remove from the heat and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to finish steaming, then fluff and serve.
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Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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