Rice and peas

As tradition built it

Rice and peas

Serves 4 . 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 450g rice
• 480ml (about 2 cups) coconut milk
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1, bruised or crushed scallion
• 7 berries pimento
• 1 clove garlic
• 1, left whole and undamaged Scotch bonnet
• 1 x 400g tin, drained gungo peas, for Christmas
• 1 x 400g tin, drained kidney beans, for the everyday and Sunday version

Method

1. Cook coconut milk, thyme, scallion, pimento, garlic and Scotch bonnet through the rice.
2. Use gungo peas for Christmas, or kidney beans for the everyday and Sunday version.

What a modern chef changes

Toasted rice, an aromatic infusion

Method

1. Toast the rice briefly in coconut oil before the liquid goes in, for a nuttier, more separate grain.
2. Cook the coconut milk element sous vide with the whole aromatics, thyme, garlic, Scotch bonnet, sealed and held at a controlled low temperature to infuse fully.
3. Strain and use as the cooking liquid, a cleaner infusion than simmering the aromatics loose through the pot.