Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice and Pigeon Peas)
Difficulty 3/5 Ingredients 25 Steps 11
Arroz con gandules is a Puerto Rican dish of rice, pigeon peas, smoked meat, and sofrito.
Ingredients
Sofrito
- 2 medium yellow onions, cut into large chunks
- 3–4 Italian frying peppers (also known as cubanelle peppers)
- 16–20 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 large bunch cilantro macho or common cilantro, washed (with roots if possible but just the leaves and stems are fine)
- 10–12 ají dulce chile peppers, seeded (e.g. ají cachucha, quechucha, ajicito, or ají gustoso)
- 10 leaves of culantro (recao), or another handful of cilantro
- 3–4 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded, cored and cut into chunks or roasted then skin and seeds removed
- 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks or roasted first then seeds and some skin removed
Rice
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon achiote (annatto) seeds
- 3 cups sofrito (recipe above)
- ½ cup coarsely-chopped alcaparrado (manzanilla olives, pimiento, and capers)
- 3 tablespoons of salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds or ground cumin or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds or ground coriander or more to taste
- 5 tablespoons (⅓ cup) chopped Mexican mint (optional)
- 2 green plantains or 3 green bananas grated
- 1–2 whole pieces of smoked ham hock or smoked turkey, depending how big just for flavor
- 1½ pounds Puerto Rican salami (salchichón), ham, or chorizo, diced
- 6 cups medium grain rice (do not rinse)
- 1 bag (13 ounces) of frozen pigeon peas or 1 can (15 ounces) of pigeon peas
- About 7 cups beef, chicken, turkey, or vegetable broth
- 6 bay leaves or avocado leaves
- 1 banana leaf or plantain leaf (optional)
Steps
Sofrito
- Blend chopped onions in blender until liquefied.
- With motor running, add remaining sofrito ingredients one at a time. Process until smooth.
- Reserve 3 cups sofrito for rice.
Rice
- Heat oil and annatto seeds in small skillet over medium heat just until seeds give lively, steady sizzle. Do not overheat. Remove from heat. Stand until sizzling stops. Strain oil into heavy 5-quart pot or Dutch oven. Stand at least 5 minutes.
- Toast cumin and coriander seeds in small skillet over low heat a few minutes, watching closely. Grind in spice grinder, coffee mill or mortar and pestle.
- Boil frozen pigeon peas 10 minutes before using. Drain and rinse canned peas.
- Reheat oil over high heat until rippling. Stir in ham hock and salami. Brown. Add sofrito, alcaparrado, grated plantain and salt. Cook about 5 minutes until sofrito stops boiling and sizzles.
- Add cumin, coriander, orégano brujo, bay leaves or avocado leaves and black pepper. Stir in sofrito 30–45 seconds until aromatic.
- Stir in rice and peas until rice is coated with oil. Add broth or water to cover rice by two fingers' width. Top with banana leaf (or pan lid), folded to fit, or trim overhang.
- Bring to boil. Boil without stirring until liquid level meets rice. Remove banana leaf. Stir rice well. Replace leaf.
- Reduce heat to low. Cover pot with lid. Cook about 20 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
Notes from the original
- The remaining sofrito will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze in ice trays and it will last a month. Tomatoes can be roasted and passed threw a strainer, removing seeds and skin as an option. Red peppers are usually roasted on an open flame before blending into sofrito.
- Homemade broth is best, but you can use store-bought or water.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice and Pigeon Peas)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-06-19, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.