Yellow Rice with Pigeon Peas
Rice and pigeon peas with an abundantly seasoned sofrito and the prized crust (pegao) that forms on the bottom of the pot.
Ingredients
Sofrito
- 1 Cubanelle pepper (Italian frying pepper) (seeded and chopped)
- 5 fresh ají dulce (small sweet chiles) (halved and seeded)
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
- 3 fresh recao leaves (culantro) (chopped)
- 1 plum tomato (chopped)
Rice
- ¼ pound smoked ham (diced)
- ¼ cup annatto oil
- ⅓ cup chopped pimento-stuffed olives
- 1 tablespoon drained bottled capers
- 2 cups long-grain white rice
- 1 can (15 ounces) pigeon peas (rinsed and drained)
- 3 ½ cups water
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Purée all sofrito ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
- Cut out a round of parchment or wax paper slightly larger than the diameter of a wide 4- to 5-quart pot.
- Pat ham dry and cook in annatto oil in pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until starting to crisp, about 4 minutes.
- Add sofrito, olives, and capers, and cook, stirring, until liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Add rice and cook, stirring, until it sizzles, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in peas, water, and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer, uncovered, over medium-high heat until almost all of liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes, reducing heat to medium once water is below level of rice.
- Gently stir from bottom to top, then smooth top of rice. Place parchment round directly over rice and cover pot with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce heat to low and cook, undisturbed, 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat, then discard parchment and gently fluff rice with a fork. Cover with lid and let stand 10 minutes.
Notes
Cooks’ notes: Pork can be marinated up to 3 days. Recipe by Maggie Ruggiero, Gourmet, September 2007. Epicurious.com.
