Description
Arroz Con Gandules is a classic Puerto Rican dish featuring medium grain white rice cooked with pigeon peas, tomato sauce, sofrito, and a blend of traditional seasonings. This hearty and flavorful one-pot meal often includes ham or bacon for added richness and is known for its subtle smoky aroma and the beloved crispy rice layer, or ‘pegao,’ at the bottom of the pot.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat and Oils
- 4 slices bacon or ham, optional
- 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable oil, olive oil, or achiote oil)
Main Ingredients
- 1 cup canned gandules or frozen pigeon peas, drained
- ¾ cup tomato sauce
- ½ cup green olives, sliced or whole, or capers
- ¼ cup sofrito (thawed if using store-bought frozen)
Seasonings
- 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
Liquids and Rice
- 3 ½ cups water or chicken broth
- 2 ½ cups medium grain white rice (Arroz Rico), rinsed
Instructions
- Cook the meat: Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot like a Dutch oven or caldero over medium heat. If using ham or bacon, slowly cook it until crispy. Remove the meat, leaving the drippings in the pot. If not using meat, add oil before continuing.
- Add flavor base: Add the gandules, tomato sauce, green olives, sofrito, salt, adobo, sazon, black pepper, and cumin to the pot. Stir thoroughly to combine and cook until the mixture becomes fragrant.
- Boil with liquids: Pour in the water or chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
- Add rice: Add the rinsed rice, stir to ensure it is submerged and pigeons peas are evenly distributed.
- Simmer: Reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot (using a banana or plantain leaf for traditional flavor if available), and cook for about 25 minutes. Optionally, add back the reserved ham or bacon now or later before serving.
- Mid-cook stir (optional): About halfway through cooking, remove the lid and gently stir by folding the rice from the bottom up once to promote even cooking without losing the crispy ‘pegao’ layer. Avoid over-stirring to prevent mushiness.
- Rest the rice: After cooking, remove the pot from heat and let the rice sit, covered, for 10 minutes to steam and finish absorbing liquid.
- Fluff and serve: Remove the lid after resting, fluff the rice gently, and serve warm.
Notes
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat with added water in the microwave to prevent drying out.
- Freezing: Freeze cooled leftovers in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Rinse rice thoroughly to prevent clumping and ensure perfect texture.
- Medium grain rice is traditional; long grain is an acceptable substitute, but avoid short grain rice as it makes the dish too sticky.
- Limit stirring during cooking to preserve the crispy ‘pegao’ layer at the bottom of the pot.
- Use a tight-fitting lid or cover with foil to trap steam and moisture for ideal rice texture.
- Capers can be substituted or combined with olives to add a briny note. Use 2 tablespoons capers without juice if replacing olives.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 650mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
