I've gotten requests to add more latin recipes to my site which for me is never a problem since I LOVE latin food! Arroz Con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas) is a Puerto Rican dish popular in the Carribean. The pigeon peas are loaded with fiber which makes this a healthy side if cooked right. This is a lighter version of my cousin's recipe, who makes the best arroz con gandules I know. The most important part of this dish is in the seasoning. Your liquids should have lots of flavor, and should taste slightly salty before it's absorbed into the rice, otherwise it will taste a bit bland when absorbed. Great with a simple side salad.
Arroz Con Gandules (Rice and Pigeon Peas)
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 7 • Size: 1 cup • Time: 35 minutes • Calories: 247 • Points: 4.5
Sofrito:
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup white onion
- 4 scallions
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup green pepper
- 1 tomato
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 (15 oz) can pigeon peas or gandules, drained
- 2 cups of uncooked long grain rice
- 3 cups water
- 1 chicken bullion like Maggi (or vegetable bullion for vegans)
- 1 packet of Sazon
- salt
Reduce flame to medium-low and let water boil down until it is completely absorbed. Once water barely skims the top, set flame to low and cover for 20 minutes without stirring or lifting the lid. The steam will cook the rice.
mmm, looks good. I am going to have to make this recipe!
ReplyDeletethis looks amazing!!! i'm going to have to try it this weekend!!!
ReplyDeletePigeon peas! Must look those up in the store.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of pigeon peas. Another interesting recipe!
ReplyDeleteI always find Gandules or Pigeon Peas in the spanish section. Goya carries it.
ReplyDeleteThis looks YUMMY!
ReplyDeleteThis may be a ridiculous question, but I'm also interested in the cucumber/pepper/tomato salad on the side. May I ask how that's made? *sheepish* I'm a neophyte at making salad-type mixtures
ReplyDelete@Mouse - This is a perfect salad with any latin dish. I squeezed 1/2 lime and 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. I cut up some red onion and seasoned it with salt then added the dressing and let it sit a few minutes. Then I chopped the tomatoes, pepper, and cucumber and tossed it with the onions and adjusted salt and pepper to taste. This is really good!
ReplyDeleteWhat is Sazon? Can I get it at a regular grocery store?
ReplyDeleteAbout how many points is your tomato and cucumber salad?
ReplyDelete@ Michelle - for the Cucumber tomato salad, if you use 1 cucumber, 1 pepper, 1 tomato, it would be under 1 point for 4 people.
ReplyDeleteSazon is a little flavor packet in the Spanish foods aisle in most supermarkets made by Goya or Badia.
Which Sazon do you use? I have seen these packets with different ingredients in them, one has cilantro and garlic etc., do you use a plain variety?
ReplyDeleteIt really doesn't matter, I don't think there is much of a difference in taste. The plain is fine, if you have the others with cilantro and garlic, that's fine too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this fantastic recipe, Gina. I made it last night and it was fantastic! I will proudly serve it to my Dominican mother-in-law the next time she visits. Every latin dish I learn to make puts her a little more at ease with the idea that her son must survive on my cooking.
ReplyDeleteI do have one question. The rice was just slightly underdone and I think I got confused with the water skims the top/completely absorbed instructions. When should I put the lid on?
@Jess, when the water starts to evaporate and it's at the same level as the rice (or slightly below) you cover it and put it on the lowest setting. Do not open the lid. The steam is what finishes the cooking. If you find it is still not done, leave the lid on another 5 minutes with the flame off. Glad you can please your Dominican MIL! My cousin who is a great cook and grew up in PR taught me how to make her arroz con gandules. Love it!
ReplyDeletei had this last week with the peruvian chicken(awesome by the way) and it was really good, tasted just like the regular version. my question is, is there a reason you didnt add olives or ham? was it to keep the points down? i dont imagine it would increase the points by much. just curious if it was a calorie decision or you normally dont add those items to your PR rice? i know being puerto rican myself that every one has their own style or twist on how they make rice or what they put in it. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's my personal preference and a lighter version of my cousin's arroz con gandules (no one makes it better than her!!) but feel free to add it if that is how you normally eat it, I'm sure it would be great. The points will increase slightly.
ReplyDeleteHow much Sazon is in a packet? I found a big container of it and don't know what amount to use. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGood question! 1 tbsp maybe? It doesn't say on the package.
ReplyDeleteGina, thanks for this recipe as I am making it ALL THE TIME! I am making it tonite for a crowd, and plan on doubling it as I did the first time I made it. I always find, though, the rice is undercooked. I leave the lid on for at least 30 minutes...any ideas as to what I might be doing wrong? Everyone still loves the rice, even though it's a little, ahem, crunchy in some spots.
ReplyDeleteCooking large quantities of rice can be challenging. Make sure you don't lift the lid for those 30 minutes. Also, you want to make sure you have a good seal with your lid so no steam escapes. My mom always finishes her rice in the oven when she's making a big pot to allow it to cook without burning the bottom. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteI just finished making this for dinner. I live in Alaska so ingredients can be scare! I had to substitute the sazo for some spices (cumin, oregano, corriander, salt, pepper) and could not find the pigeon peas, so I used kidney beans. I also used brown rice. It ended up like beans and rice with a latin flare. I was quite pleased and ate it with the carnitas recipe from this site. Thanks for a great recipe!
ReplyDeleteHi there in Alaska! It sounds like it was still delicious. Like rice and beans with a healthier twist.
ReplyDeletePigeon peas were unattainable for me, so I used rinsed, canned black beans. I also ended up just hand chopping everything, so mine didn't look much like yours. I had lots of green, along with red specks of tomato. I loved the flavor, and ate it as the entree. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I ordered a bottle of Sazon seasoning & used a rounded tablespoonful. Your recipe was delicious and satisfying, which is good---because it made a ton! Thanks again...love your site!
ReplyDeleteDN- I make something similar, I love the combination of rice and beans cooked together. Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeletecould you please add the points plus?? no hurry :)
ReplyDeleteI came up with 8 points+ for this.
ReplyDeleteAnother excellent recipe, Gina :) I took a gamble and tried this in my rice cooker (sauteed the veggies first and then just combined everything in the cooker). I wasn't sure if the amount of liquid would be right, but it worked out ok...though the rice at the bottom turned out kinda mushy. It was still very tasty though! Kinda reminds me of my mom's Spanish rice, which I love!
Made this over the weekend with the Skinny Pernil. It was great! Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteHi Gina,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I LOVE all of your recipes that I have tried and looking forward to trying many, many more! I was wondering if you think this would work using the directions from your baked rice and peas recipe, if so do I need to adjust the amount of water. Thank you and my family thanks you, they appreciate the delicious meals!
I also always make my Arroz Con Gandules in the rice cooker. My husband is PR so very particular about his rice and I received a huge thumbs up from him and my MIL :0) I buy the Goya Sofrito already made (freezer section) unless I have time to make it from scratch. This also allows me to cut out a few more calories because I dont have to use any oil in the rice. To earlier post about the rice being mushy in the rice cooker, I have also had this problem in the beginning but each time I would adjust the liquid (less)until it was perfect consistency.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little confused. Is the sofrito everything above the oil?
ReplyDeleteMade this tonight for my Dominican boyfriend and he loved it. he said it was the best rice and peas he had ever had. thanks for a great recipe
ReplyDeletei added 2 traditional ingridients to this, diced ham(2 oz) and spanish olives(10 olives, chopped) and this only jumped the points up to 5, instead of 4.5. i honestly can not tell the difference, the flavor is phenomenal and its less greasy. i actually got 8 cups out of this instead of 7 which means it was less than 5 points, score! gonna try to make the jalapeno poppers and hot spinach dip this weekend, cant wait!
ReplyDeleteHi Gina, love your site, I've been making at least 3 recipes off your site a week lately! I have a question on this one... I bought frozen sofrito to skip a few steps since I don't have a food processor, can you recommend how much to use?
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ReplyDeleteI would like to make this recipe with my own sofrito, so do I just heat the oil on medium, stir in the sofrito, and follow the rest of the instructions?
ReplyDeleteIf you could tell me how to make this with my own sofrito that would be great. Thanks! :)
And thank you for all of your recipes.
Any advice on making it ahead of time for about 30 people?
ReplyDelete